BRYSON CITY – Four defendants, three men and one woman, two of which are EBCI tribal members, have received federal prison sentences by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger for drug trafficking related offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins was joined in making the announcement on Monday, June 20 by Chief Ben Reed, of the Cherokee Indian Police Department, and Sheriff Curtis Cochran, of the Swain County Sheriff’s Office.
On August 3, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted the four defendants on one count of conspiracy with intent to distribute marijuana. According to filed documents and court proceedings, from October 2007 through July 2009 the defendants distributed the drugs on the reservation. To date, all four defendants have entered guilty pleas.
• Henry Queen Littlejohn, 43, of Cherokee, is an EBCI tribal member. He pleaded guilty on November 22, 2010, and was sentenced to 57 months in prison to be followed by three years or supervised release.
• Jasmine Michelle Littlejohn, 20, of Cherokee, is an EBCI tribal member. She pleaded guilty on November 22, 2010, and was sentenced to 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
• Jeffrey Lowell Fouts, 52, of Gold Hill, entered a plea of guilty on November 10, 2010, and was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment to be followed by four years of supervised release.
• Patrick Jesse Dalton, 21, of Sylva, entered a plea of guilty on November 10, 2010, and was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment to be followed by four years of supervised release.
The defendants have been in local federal custody in the Western District of North Carolina. Upon designation of a federal facility, each will be transferred into custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation of the case was handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs with the assistance of the Cherokee Indian Police Department and Swain County Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution was handled for the government by Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.
– U.S. Attorney’s Office
