trafficking

Local Man Arrested On Multiple Drug Trafficking Charges, Stolen Vehicle Recovered

HILLSBOROUGH, NC – An Orange County man is facing a litany of trafficking and distribution charges after an Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigation and seizure of illegal drugs.

Little

Authorities arrested James Lorenzo Little, 35, of Ello Drive, on July 18 and served him with more than a dozen drug trafficking and related warrants resulting from a search Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) investigators conducted earlier this month.

Little came to the attention of investigators early in the year during their work on an unrelated case. During the following months, investigators developed probable cause that Little was selling illegal narcotics.

With the assistance of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, OCSO investigators served a search warrant at Ello Drive on July 3, 2024. Ello Drive is off Orange Grove Road outside the city limits of Hillsborough. 

During the search of the home, deputies said they found:

  • Suspected fentanyl
  • Cocaine
  • Crystal methamphetamine
  • MDMA (commonly known as Ecstasy)
  • Various types of prescription pills
  • Items related to the sale and distribution of narcotics
  • A gun
  • A stolen motor vehicle

In simplest terms, trafficking refers to large-scale participation in the illegal drug trade. 

After further investigation, investigators swore out more than a dozen warrants for Little’s arrest. The Mebane Police Department located and arrested Little early on July 18. Little now faces the following charges related to the Ello Drive investigation:

• Two counts of Trafficking Opium or Heroin
• Trafficking in Cocaine
• Trafficking in Methamphetamine
• Trafficking in MDMA
• Possession of a Firearm by Felon
• PWISD Cocaine
• PWISD Methamphetamine
• PWISD MDMA
• Two counts of PWISD Schedule II Controlled Substance
• PWISD Marijuana
• Maintaining a Dwelling for a Controlled Substance
• Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle

After the arrest, authorities in Alamance County also charged Little with two additional felonies: possession of a controlled substance on jail premises and possession of cocaine. Held without bond under the Pretrial Integrity Act, he appeared in court in Alamance County on Thursday.