The following are updates in the latest federal court proceedings of Omar Daquon Ponton, according to court records, and Elijah Thorne and Jimmie Thorne, according to the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office:
Ponton
Ponton of Roanoke Rapids will have an arraignment in Raleigh Thursday at 2 p.m. to answer to a two-count indictment related to fentanyl distribution. He will appear before District Judge Terrence W. Boyle.
The first count of the indictment charges that Ponton — on or about March 3 — distributed a quantity of fentanyl while the second count charges he had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by a prison term of one year while he possessed a firearm used in the commission of a crime.
Ponton has been in federal custody since his arrest.
In October United States Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Swank ordered Ponton into federal custody.
Swank ruled in her detention motion that, among other factors, there is evidence that Ponton poses a threat to confidential informants.
She also factored in his prior criminal history, participation in criminal activity while on supervision or release, a history of violence, a history of substance abuse and evidence of flight.
The Thornes
Halifax County Sheriff Tyree Davis said in a statement that the father and son duo of Elijah and Jimmie Thorne are scheduled for sentencing in January after pleading guilty last month to their federal indictments.
In August of 2022, agents executed a search warrant at an address on Carolina Rest Home Road in Roanoke Rapids.
As a result of the search warrant, the Thornes were federally Indicted on illegal gun and drug-related crimes.
“We greatly appreciate the relationship we have built over the past year and a half and currently have with the United States Attorney's Office and other federal agencies,” Davis said. “I thank them for their partnership with these types of cases. I would also like to thank the hard work of the task force members. The task force works endlessly to gather evidence, prepare for and prosecute cases at the state and federal levels to rid our county of illegal guns, drugs and gangs.”
