WINDSOR, N.C. – A former North Carolina police officer was found guilty by a jury for his involvement in providing armed support to a large-scale drug trafficking organization.
33-year-old Antonio Tillmon was found guilty for drug, firearm and bribery charges stemming from his participation in trafficking narcotics and narcotics proceeds.
Tillmon, a former police officer with the Windsor City Police Department, was found guilty of multiple counts of conspiring to distribute controlled substances, attempting to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiring to use and carry firearms in relation to drug trafficking offenses, using and carrying firearms in relation to drug trafficking offenses and federal programs bribery, the Department of Justice said.
The charges stemmed from a large scale undercover investigation into allegations of systemic law enforcement corruption in Northampton County, North Carolina.
Evidence showed that Tillmon accepted $6,500 from undercover FBI agents posing as drug traffickers in return for transporting a total of 30 kilograms of heroin from North Carolina to Maryland over three separate occasions between August 2014 and April 2015, the DOD said.
On each occasion, Tillmon carried his law enforcement badge and a firearm to get the narcotics.
Tillmon was prepared to use his badge and fake documentation to evade drug interdiction in the event the transport vehicle was stopped, the DO said.
Evidence also showed that Tillmon agreed to participate in a fourth drug transport, to which he brought five firearms, including an assault rifle accompanied by three magazines of ammunition.
Fourteen other defendants, 13 of whom were law enforcement or correctional officers, were charged in the drug trafficking and firearm conspiracies – the law enforcement and correctional officers were also charged with federal programs bribery.
Those defendants all pleaded guilty to various offenses and are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
Tillmon is the only defendant charged who proceeded to trial.
Tillmon’s sentencing is scheduled for August 8, 2017.
