Fugitive Charlotte drug trafficker sentenced following ICE investigation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A California man who trafficked more than 3,000 kilograms of marijuana into Charlotte-area communities during the early 2000s was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison Tuesday on drug conspiracy and money laundering charges. The sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) along with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Reginald Glenn Patterson, 45, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to serve 10 years supervised release following the completion of his prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr.

According to court documents, Patterson was initially indicted in 2003 for his role operating a drug trafficking conspiracy in the Charlotte area. He was arrested in Los Angeles on federal charges in May 2003, and was subsequently released on a $50,000 bond.

Patterson subsequently failed to appear for his sentencing hearing in Charlotte in June 2005 and he was declared a fugitive. According to court records, law enforcement obtained information on Patterson’s whereabouts over the course of an unrelated drug trafficking investigation and arrested him in June 2015 in central California.

This case was prosecuted by Western District of North Carolina Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker on behalf of U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose.

U.S. Attorney Rose announced the sentencing Tuesday along with Nick Annan, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.