A Benson man, Keith Antonio Mcdougald, has been sentenced to 120 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute a substance containing fentanyl. The sentence was announced following his guilty plea on October 7, 2025.
Court documents revealed that Mcdougald was discovered by Nash County Sheriff's deputies in a disabled vehicle obstructing traffic on I-95. Initially providing a false name and admitting to marijuana use, he was found with an AR-15 rifle loaded with a large capacity magazine of 41 rounds, a 10mm pistol with ammunition, six grams of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and significant quantities of mixtures containing heroin, fentanyl, ANPP, flourofentanyl (a fentanyl analogue), and methamphetamine.
Mcdougald explained he traveled to Virginia via Facebook Marketplace to purchase tires and carried the weapons for protection against potential robbery.
Classified as a career offender due to four prior felony convictions—two counts of felony assault by strangulation, intimidation of a witness, and attempted obtaining property by false pretenses—Mcdougald received his sentence from U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Sandling and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Aria Q. Merle.
Further details are available through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or PACER under Case No. 5:23-CR-00203-FL.