Chadbourn man federally sentenced to 10 years after drug bust
WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — On February 24th, 2023, Scotty Macneil Nealy was sentenced in Federal Court for the following charges:
- Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
- Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance
- Possession of a Firearm During the Furtherance of a Drug Crime
Scotty Nealy, 30, of Chadbourn received a total sentence of 120 months, or 10 years, with an additional 3 years of Federal Supervised Release.
On March 20th, 2018, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Vice-Narcotics Investigators conducted a controlled purchase of cocaine from Nealy, as part of their investigation.
At the end of the investigation, investigators obtained warrants on Nealy for the Sell/Deliver of Cocaine, and Possession with Intent to Manufacture, Sell/Deliver Cocaine.
As part of a 2018 warrant roundup, investigators attempted to locate Nealy to serve the active warrants but were unsuccessful.
On March 1st, 2019, Cumberland County Deputies encountered Nealy at a Circle K store in Fayetteville.
Deputies found heroin, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, numerous prescription pills, and a stolen handgun.
Nealy was then arrested and charged with the following:
- Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
- Possession of a Stolen Firearm
- Trafficking Cocaine
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
- Maintaining a Vehicle to Keep/Sell a Controlled Substance
Nealy was also served with the outstanding warrants from the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office.
In March of 2019, Nealy’s charges were adopted federally.
On March 6th, 2020, Nealy was federally indicted.
On April 1st, 2020, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, an ATF Violent Crimes Task Force Officer, along with the US Marshals served the arrest warrant on Nealy at his residence located on H. Bellamy Lane, Chadbourn.
The residence was searched and law enforcement officers found a 9mm handgun hidden in a floor vent with both crack and powder cocaine, digital scales, and packaging material.
They also located heroin hidden on top of a cabinet and over $2,600 in cash on his person.
Nealy was arrested after the search and was placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals.
On April 14th, 2020, Nealy was again federally indicted, this time for charges related to the April 1st, 2020, search.
