Man sentenced for fentanyl trafficking

HICKORY, N.C. — Austin Lee Hector, 29, of Hickory, was sentenced to serve six to eight years in prison Wednesday following his conviction for two counts of trafficking fentanyl. The sentencing took place in Catawba County Superior Court after Hector entered a guilty plea.

ALSO READ: 2 charged in Statesville drug bust, 1 facing 27th felony case

Superior Court Judge Nathaniel J. Poovey imposed the active prison sentence along with a mandatory fine of $500,000. The charges against Hector stemmed from two separate incidents involving the possession of trafficking amounts of fentanyl in September 2024 and January 2025.

The most recent incident occurred on Jan. 3, 2025, when Hickory Police conducted a health check on Hector.

Officers found him slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle at a convenience store. When the vehicle door was opened, Hector was holding a glass smoking pipe containing powder residue. A search of the vehicle and Hector revealed multiple containers of fentanyl and additional plastic bags of drugs were found during a subsequent search at the jail.

An earlier encounter took place on Sept. 22, 2024, following a traffic stop for failure to maintain lane control. Hector was driving the vehicle when officers observed a bag of narcotics in plain view on the passenger side, where an unconscious person was sitting.

Investigators discovered another bag of drugs on the driver’s side floorboard where Hector had been seated. The North Carolina State Crime Lab confirmed the substances seized in both instances were trafficking amounts of fentanyl.

Caleb Turner of the Hickory Police Department and Jake Brantley of the Brookford Police Department led the investigations into the two cases. Assistant District Attorney Kyle Smith handled the prosecution for the state with assistance from Legal Assistant Amy Bishoff.

Hector will serve his period of incarceration in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.

VIDEO: Man faces trafficking and hit-and-run charges after chase in Mount Holly