Colby Michael Cline, 44, of Newton, will serve six to eight years in prison following his conviction for trafficking methamphetamine during Catawba County Superior Court on Friday, September 19, 2025.
The Honorable Jacqueline Grant, Superior Court Judge from Buncombe County, imposed terms of the active sentence after Cline entered the guilty plea. In addition, he was assessed a mandatory fine of $500,000.
The defendant will serve his period of incarceration in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
Officers from Hickory Police Department responded to a convenience store on February 5, 2025, to address a report of an individual with an outstanding warrant. Upon arrival, they located Cline in a vehicle and made contact with him.
During the encounter, they saw a black pouch with clear plastic bags inside that appeared to contain a crystalline substance akin to methamphetamine.
The bags were confiscated, and Cline was taken into custody. Testing by the State Crime Lab confirmed the substance to be a trafficking amount of methamphetamine.
Carlos De Los Santos was the lead investigator for Hickory Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Greer prosecuted the matter for the State with aid from Legal Assistant Stacey London.