Submitted by the Office of District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced that a Graham County jury found Keith Mark Tipton guilty of four criminal charges, resulting in a minimum active sentence of 231 months, or 19.25 years in prison.
His convictions were for trafficking in opioids, domestic violence protective order violation, possession with intent to sell and deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, and simple possession of marijuana.
Graham County deputies discovered Tipton in possession of firearms on Sept. 18, 2022, in violation of a valid domestic protective order.
When they returned the next day with a search warrant and a warrant for Tipton’s arrest, he ran into the woods. He was tracked down by K9 Sam and other members of the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
While executing the search warrant, deputies found three firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, marijuana, and about 33 grams of buprenorphine (suboxone).
Jury members heard a week of hearings and evidence, from Graham County Sheriff’s deputies, a member of Graham County Clerk’s Office, a state lab forensic chemist, and Haywood County Sheriff’s Office.
Superior Court Judge Gregory Hayes sentenced Tipton to 231 to 299 months in state prison and imposed a mandatory $500,000 fine.
Detective Samuel Page was the primary investigator. Assistant district attorneys Shelli Buckner and Jim Moore prosecuted the case.
