A former Rocky Mount police officer has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison in a cocaine trafficking case that included a planned drug delivery to Roanoke Rapids, according to federal prosecutors.
Linc Oshea Brooks, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
The case reached the Roanoke Rapids area on Jan. 11, 2023, when investigators determined Brooks would be traveling north on Interstate 95 to Roanoke Rapids to deliver approximately nine ounces of cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Nash County Sheriff’s Office deputies spotted Brooks committing several traffic violations and conducted a traffic stop. During the stop, a K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle, and deputies subsequently discovered 191 grams of cocaine, prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Brooks became combative during the encounter and deputies restrained him.
Investigation Began in 2022
Federal investigators said the case against Brooks began taking shape in early 2022, when Drug Enforcement Administration investigators uncovered his connection to a cocaine trafficker in Richmond, Virginia.
Later that year, another drug trafficker told investigators that Brooks had been selling quantities of cocaine as large as five kilograms at a time since 2021.
Following Brooks’ January 2023 arrest, law enforcement searched his residence. Investigators reported finding two digital scales containing white residue, plastic baggies and two firearms inside a shed on the property.
Two additional firearms and marijuana were found inside the master bedroom of the residence, according to prosecutors.
The DEA investigation also included information from cooperating witnesses who linked Brooks to large-scale cocaine trafficking dating back to the early 2000s, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Brooks retired from the Rocky Mount Police Department in 2006. Federal prosecutors said he was still carrying his police shield and law enforcement identification card when deputies arrested him in January 2023.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle sharply criticized Brooks’ conduct following the sentencing.
“Each day, thousands of men and women courageously put on the badge, kiss goodbye to their families, step into harm’s way, and protect the community from criminal ne’er-do-wells. Unfortunately, a select few choose wrong; breaking the law they swore to enforce,” Boyle said.
Michael J. Connolly, acting special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division, said Brooks’ actions represented a violation of both the law and the public trust.
“Law enforcement officers are entrusted with protecting their communities, not exploiting their positions to facilitate drug trafficking,” Connolly said. “When an officer becomes involved in drug trafficking, that conduct not only violates the law, but it also betrays the public trust.”
Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone also thanked the agencies involved in the investigation and said law enforcement officers are held to high standards because of the trust placed in them by the public.
“Mr. Brooks violated that trust by swearing an oath to uphold the law and then engaging in the very criminal activity he was entrusted to prevent,” Stone said.
W. Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the sentence. The DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
