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The investigation into a man charged last week on fentanyl trafficking counts dates back to February, according to a criminal complaint filed in the federal court record.

The complaint, written by a special agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, notes around February 17, Agent D.J. Epperson of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office began receiving drug trafficking information regarding Deandre Lamont “DD” Miles from a confidential and reliable source .

That source alleged, “Miles is a major supplier of heroin and fentanyl in Halifax and Northampton counties.”

The informant also alleged Miles was known to make several trips to locations including South Carolina to pick up large amounts of narcotics and bring them back to the Warner Bridge Road area of Northampton County.

On February 29 Epperson received a phone call from the informant saying Miles had just returned from making a trip to obtain additional drugs and requested the informant to pick up the product.

“The normal routine for Miles was for Miles to call all the local dealers in the area once he returned to town and the dealers would travel to pick up the product … in the area of Warner Bridge Road …,” the complaint says.

With this information agents set up in the Warner Bridge Road area to conduct surveillance.

Investigator Chris Babb of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department followed a vehicle from Warner Bridge Road onto Interstate 95 into Halifax County.

When Babb tried to initiate a stop, the driver fled and the attempt resulted in a high-speed pursuit through Roanoke Rapids.

It was during this pursuit law enforcement was informed the vehicle’s occupants threw approximately 5 ounces of heroin out the window, heroin the informant alleged was “supplied directly from Miles.”

October activity

On October 26 agents of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a residence on Victory Lane in Roanoke Rapids. This search warrant led to the seizure of approximately 393.2 grams of heroin, according to the complaint. “During a follow up interview, a cooperating defendant stated that Miles was the supplier and brought the heroin that was seized directly to that residence from the area of Warner Bridge Road.”

Three days later Epperson received a call from a reliable and confidential source alleging Miles had just arrived in the Warner Bridge Road area with three bricks of heroin, which the source said equated to 3 kilos. Miles had reportedly traveled from Raleigh in a black Camaro to deliver the drugs to Northampton County.

November activity

On November 12, Captain A.M. Harris of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office received information from another source that Miles and another man who has not yet been arrested were traveling to New York to pick up a pound of heroin and approximately 4,000 fentanyl pills to bring back to Northampton County.

This trip was verified through a Facebook post made by Miles’ wife stating his departure and return date.

On November 13 the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was granted a court order to capture call and cellular data from the telephones associated with Miles and the other man. Data showed the phone associated with the other man was in the area of Baltimore and that his phone had been in New York City.

On November 15 Epperson received a call from an informant who was in the area of Warner Bridge Road where Miles was reportedly selling narcotics and had two black trash bags full of raw heroin inside the trunk of a BMW registered in his name.

The informant said Miles was distributing the narcotics directly from the trunk to several people.

On November 26, Epperson applied for a court order to place and monitor a GPS device on the Camaro.

On November 30 Epperson and other agents began conducting surveillance of Miles’ activities.

December 18

On December 18 Agent C.A. Parker of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Homeland Security agent and informed him the Camaro departed a Creedmoor residence and traveled to Charlotte.

In Charlotte the Camaro stopped at two gas stations for approximately 10 minutes each and then at an apartment complex for around 20 minutes before departing to begin travel east on Interstate 85.

The Camaro stopped at an outlet store in Mebane before heading eastbound on I-40/I-85.

The Camaro exited the interstate after 3 miles and the Homeland Security agent identified Miles and his spouse.

A Granville County deputy was requested to assist in an investigative stop. “(The deputy) discovered that there was a notation for an active warrant for Miles’ arrest from Northampton County,” the complaint says. “He also discovered that Miles had a lengthy criminal history involving narcotics and firearms.”

The deputy summoned additional backup should Miles flee if stopped or use a firearm if armed.

The deputy initiated an investigative stop after Miles turned into a convenience store parking lot off Highway 15.

After smelling marijuana from inside the vehicle a canine scan was positive for the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.

Search of vehicle

During the search of the vehicle a deputy located an E-vape in the driver’s door which contained liquid THC. There was at least one air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. In the rear seat areas the deputy saw a brown paper bag wedged between the driver’s seat and the second row seat. Once the paper bag was removed the deputy could see a cardboard box inside the larger brown bag. The only thing inside the box was a white plastic bag. The deputy removed the plastic bag from the box and could feel what he knew to be a large quantity of pills. The deputy opened the bag “and saw what he believed to be approximately 10,000 small blue pills contained inside an additional gallon Ziploc bag.”

After being read his Miranda warning, Miles stated he wasn’t going to answer any questions.

In addition to the pills, deputies located two cell phones hidden under the tire cover in the vehicle’s trunk and an additional cell phone in the back floorboard where the drugs had been found along with an air freshener. Another phone was found wedged between the center console and the front passenger seat. A spray bottle of masking deodorant was found on the floorboard and marijuana residue was found in the front passenger area.

While he told Granville County deputies he wished to make no statement, he told the Homeland Security agent the drugs in the car “were solely his responsibility and that his spouse had nothing to do with it.”

Interview at Granville County

In an interview with the Homeland Security and SBI agent, “Miles stated that he had traveled to an apartment located in Charlotte and purchased approximately 10,000 fentanyl pills for $50,000 … Miles repeatedly stated that the fentanyl pills were his and that his spouse had no knowledge of them.”

When the bag of pills were weighed it was determined the gross weight of the bag and pills was approximately 2.24 pounds.”

Other details

Based on the investigation, the Homeland Security agent wrote, there is probable cause to believe Miles knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

This morning United States Magistrate Judge Magistrate Judge Robert Numbers III ordered Miles to remain in federal custody pending trial.

Numbers concluded the defendant has not introduced sufficient evidence to be allowed pretrial release.

According to the order of detention, the offense carries a maximum term of 10 years or more in prison.

Miles has been assigned a federal  public defender in his case.

Miles is currently on probation from the Commonwealth of Virginia after receiving a supervised release term of 9 years, 11 months and 3 days under an interstate compact for selling controlled substances after his conviction in September of 2013, North Carolina Department of Public Safety records show.