10 people sentenced for trafficking meth in Catawba County, deputies say

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — Ten people were sentenced to federal prison Friday for trafficking methamphetamine in Catawba County, deputies said. Eight of them were Catawba Valley residents.

The investigation started in March 2019 and authorities determined Cheng “Cam” Yang was the leader of the operation. He trafficked high purity methamphetamine from California and ran a network in the Catawba Valley.

Officials said Yang and his co-conspirators distributed a total of 45 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value of $4 million between March 2019 and September 2019. They were all arrested in September.

During the investigation, authorities seized seven firearms, 18.8 pounds of marijuana, 4 pounds of marijuana wax, 71.28 pounds of methamphetamine and $200,890.

“This is another significant blow to narcotics traffickers in the Catawba Valley,” Sheriff Donald Brown said. Our partnerships with these law enforcement agencies greatly enhance our ability to take drugs and criminals off of our streets.”

The defendants sentenced included:

• Cheng “Cam” Yang, 34, of Claremont, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Peng Yang, 35, of Claremont, was sentenced to 156 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Nicholas Yang, 21, of Claremont, was sentenced to three years in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Susan Yang, 37, of Claremont, was sentenced to 42 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Cheng “Dawb” Yang, 38, of Morganton, who bears no familial relationship to Cheng “Cam” Yang, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Belden Watson, 59, of Rutherford College, was sentenced to 97 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Rex Eversole, 30, of Morganton, was sentenced to 110 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Ashley Vaught, 30, of Lenoir, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
• Austin Litchfield, 31, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Randy Martinez, 27, also of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Officials said 16 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation.

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