BRUNSWICK COUNTY – A Supply man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison following a guilty plea in Brunswick County Superior Court.
Kevin Jermaine Hankins, 34, pleaded guilty Wednesday to trafficking 28 grams or more of heroin, according to District Attorney Jon David. Hankins was arrested following a high-speed chase on July 10, 2014.
Sheriff’s deputies tried to stop Hankins at about 2 a.m. on U.S. 17 in Leland. As deputies approached Hankins’ vehicle, he fled and led law enforcement on a brief chase before deputies forced him off the road.
The law enforcement pursuit resulted in the seizure of 8,000 bundles of heroin. The heroin was purchased in New Jersey and was being transported to Brunswick County for distribution. The drug bust was previously considered the largest heroin seizure in the county at the time of Hankins’ arrest in 2014, with a street value of about $160,000, Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram said during an announcement about his arrest.
But since that time, heroin has been an ever-growing epidemic in the Cape Fear Region, according to officials. The sheriff”s office recently joined a multi-agency effort in the region to to bring heroin dealers to justice, regardless of local, state or national boundaries.
Superior Court Judge Cash Martin sentenced Hankins to a minimum of 90 months in the N.C. Department of Corrections. Assistant District Attorney Chris Thomas prosecuted the case for the state. Attorney Grayson Cheek represented Hankins.
