WILLIAMSTON, N.C. (WNCT) — A Pitt County man has been found guilty and will spend at least 12 years in prison after his arrest on multiple counts of trafficking heroin, District Attorney Seth Edwards announced on Thursday.
A Martin County jury convicted Eric Ruffin, 31, of Winterville. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons sentenced Ruffin to the mandatory minimum of two consecutive sentences of 70-93 months in the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction.
Assistant District Attorney David Wyatt presided over the case. During the trial, officials said in March of 2021 that Ruffin sold heroin and marijuana to an informant in the Bear Grass area of Martin County. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation and captured the transactions on audio and video. An agent with the North Carolina Crime Lab testified that the heroin contained fentanyl.
“North Carolina prosecutors in partnership with law enforcement are working hard to remove Fentanyl from our communities and prosecute the pushers of this deadly poison,” said Edwards. The NC legislature is debating legislation this session to provide more tools for prosecutors to hold drug dealers accountable for deaths caused by these illegal drugs.”
