Leland man heads to prison for selling drugs

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) – A Leland man will spend up to 12 years behind bars after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges.

District Attorney Jon David announced today that Korey Beatty, 37, pleaded guilty to trafficking opium or heroin and possession of a firearm by a felon in Brunswick County Superior Court Monday morning.

Judge Ola Lewis sentenced Beatty to a minimum mandatory of 90 months to a maximum of 120 months in the N.C. Department of Corrections on the drug trafficking charge. Additionally, Beatty was sentenced to between 13 and 25 months in state prison on the possession of a firearm by a felon conviction.

On August 26, 2014, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit and Wilmington Police Department conducted an investigation that led to the purchase of heroin from Beatty in the Brunswick Forest Shopping Center parking lot.

They got a search warrant of Beatty’s home and storage unit in Leland. Investigators found 8,950 bags of heroin, $15,010 in cash, multiple firearms and ammunition.

Beatty, a former resident of New Jersey, has a prior conviction in North Carolina for possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver heroin.