A 46-year-old West Asheville man has been sentenced to 70 to 93 months in a North Carolina Department of Adult Correction facility after pleading guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and possessing a firearm as a felon, stemming from a drug and weapons stash discovered at his home during a search for an unrelated wanted fugitive. Irvin Franklin Freeman was also ordered to pay a mandatory $50,000 fine tied to his trafficking conviction.
The case traces back to August 20, 2025, when officers with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Asheville Police Department went to Freeman's home on Short Michigan Avenue in West Asheville while trying to locate a wanted fugitive, according to the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office. While executing that arrest warrant, officers instead found more than 500 grams of methamphetamine on Freeman's property, per the district attorney's office. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, that fugitive was identified as Terry Lee Wolfe.
What Officers Found on Short Michigan Avenue
The search turned up a substantial cache beyond the meth. Officers seized 572 grams of methamphetamine, 66.03 grams of fentanyl, and 14.34 grams of cocaine, along with a sawed-off shotgun, a shotgun, a .380-caliber pistol, and $850 in cash, according to the Asheville Police Department. Per the district attorney's office, a shotgun and the .380-caliber pistol were found on Freeman's property alongside the drugs.
The August 2025 raid involved the U.S. Marshals Service and Asheville Police.
A Second Arrest at the Same Address
Freeman's legal troubles did not end with the 2025 case. While awaiting trial on those charges, he was arrested again on February 17, 2026, at the same Short Michigan Avenue home, this time on charges of possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, and maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances, according to 828 News NOW. That February search followed officers witnessing an associate leave the home carrying fentanyl and methamphetamine, per the outlet's account.
Why the Sentence Was Mandatory
Freeman ultimately pleaded guilty to trafficking in methamphetamine by possession and possession of a firearm by a felon. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 90-95(h)(3b), possessing between 28 and 200 grams of methamphetamine constitutes Class F felony trafficking, which mandates an active prison sentence of 70 to 93 months along with the $50,000 statutory fine, according to the North Carolina General Assembly's own statutory text. The conviction here was based on the amount of methamphetamine seized.
That rigidity extends to sentencing as well. The Class F felony trafficking conviction carries strict sentencing guidelines, according to the district attorney's office.
Case Fits a Broader Regional Pattern
Freeman's prosecution comes amid other federal drug cases in western North Carolina. Hoodline previously reported on the federal sentencing of Asheville fentanyl ring leader Sadiq Mafia Devoe Jones, who received 135 months, or 11 years and 3 months, in federal prison in a separate Buncombe County case. A separate Hendersonville case is not detailed in the available reporting.
The case also arrives against a mixed public health backdrop in Buncombe County. County officials reported in September 2026 that fatal drug overdoses fell 46% between 2022 and projected 2025 figures, alongside a 32% decline in emergency department overdose visits, attributing the drop to expanded community paramedicine and naloxone distribution programs, according to Buncombe County Government. Yet data from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released in June 2026 ranked Buncombe County sixth in North Carolina for fentanyl deaths during the 12-month period ending in March 2026, at 22.9 deaths per 100,000 residents, as reported by WLOS. The figures above provide separate measures of the county's drug crisis.
