Robert J. Higdon Jr., United States attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said in a statement United States District Judge Terrance Boyle sentenced the 30-year-old Roanoke Rapids man to a 144-month prison term which will be followed by five years of supervised release.

Belfield was named in a three-count Indictment filed on December 13, 2016.

On May 9 of last year, he pled guilty to the firearms charges while a count of knowingly and intentionally possessing cocaine with intent to distribute was dismissed.

Higdon said in the statement investigation began in 2015 when the Roanoke Rapids Police Department received information Belfield was selling cocaine at his residence in Roanoke Rapids. A confidential source made three controlled purchases of cocaine from him at his residence.

On April 16, 2015, agents with the City County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at his residence.

Belfield informed officers a firearm was in his bedroom. Officers subsequently located a .40-caliber handgun loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition, 38 bindles of heroin inside the ammunition box, a half-gram of crack cocaine, a digital scale with white powder residue, a razor blade with white powder residue, and plastic baggies in the bedroom.

“This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone,” Higdon said in the statement.

The program is also in support of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative.

The Roanoke Rapids Police Department, Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the North Carolina Crime Laboratory conducted the criminal investigation of this case.

Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette handled the prosecution of this case for the government.

Said Roanoke Rapids Chief Chuck Hasty: “We’re pleased with the outcome of this case and continue our commitment to work with the eastern district United States Attorney’s Office to take back North Carolina and clean our streets of drugs and drug offenders.”