PENDER COUNTY — A Pender County man was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison on multiple drug charges, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
Elmer “E.J.” Holmes Jr., 38, was charged with two counts, including conspiracy to possess and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 100 grams or more of heroin, and distribution of cocaine and heroin and aiding and abetting another.
Court documents presented to law enforcement show in 2019 Holmes was receiving a large amount of drugs at the home of Johnny Holmes, E.J.’s cousin. From April until September 2019, Holmes unknowingly distributed several ounces of heroin and cocaine to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, as several controlled purchases had been conducted by officers.
The press release reveals on Apr. 29, 2019, after a controlled purchase of cocaine and heroin was made, an officer pulled over a vehicle with Holmes in it — his cousin was the passenger. The police confiscated the money used during the previous controlled purchases.
Law enforcement said in the release Holmes had sold more than three kilograms of cocaine and over 100 grams of heroin from December 2018 until his arrest. Holmes unsuccessfully had his cousin write a letter to law enforcement to explain that E.J. Holmes was not involved with the crimes he was charged with.
Due to prior federal convictions and felony status, Holmes also was sentenced to 21 months for a 2004 charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and 76 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine in 2006.
His cousin, Johnny, was sentenced to 56 months for the distribution of heroin and cocaine.
Holmes’ investigation was part of operation “Ahab’s Harpoon,” according to the release — “part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.”
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