A Hickory man will serve an active prison term of 12 to 16 years following his conviction for attempted trafficking of fentanyl by possession and manufacturing in Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
The Honorable Clifton H. Smith, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County, imposed terms of the active sentence after 33-year-old Garius Wayne Linebarger entered a guilty plea to the two counts of attempted trafficking.
The defendant will serve his period of incarceration in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
Investigators with Hickory Police Department assisted Catawba County Probation officers with an operation to ensure compliance with sex offender registry guidelines on March 19, 2024.
During a search of Linebarger’s residence, a bag of white powdery substance was found in a drawer of a storage bin in the hallway outside Linebarger’s bedroom. Inside the bedroom, digital scales and six more plastic bags were located.
The substances were seized and submitted to the State Crime Lab for testing. Results showed the substances to be a trafficking amount of fentanyl.
Linebarger admitted in an interview that the drugs were in his residence and that he had placed them in in the drawer to hold and sell for an inmate in prison, adding that he had received the drugs two months earlier.
Daniel Peacock handled the investigation for Hickory Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Howard Wellons prosecuted the matter for the State with aid from Legal Assistant Meredith Scott.