HICKORY, N.C. — A Hickory woman was sentenced to seven to ten years in prison for drug and property crimes after pleading guilty in Catawba County Superior Court on March 18.
Angelica Leann Crane was convicted of trafficking fentanyl by possession, possession of methamphetamine, identity theft, and obtaining property by false pretense.
Judge Donald R. Cureton from Mecklenburg County imposed the sentence, which includes a $100,000 fine for the trafficking offense and $14,695.48 in restitution to the victims of identity theft and false pretense.
The charges against Crane stemmed from incidents involving drug possession and fraudulent activities.
On February 13, 2025, a traffic stop led to the discovery of drug paraphernalia in a vehicle where Crane was a passenger. A subsequent search revealed a trafficking amount of fentanyl on her person.
In a separate incident on December 28, 2024, Crane was stopped while driving, and a K-9 unit detected drugs in her vehicle, resulting in the recovery of methamphetamine.
Crane’s fraudulent activities occurred between June 22 and August 24, 2023, when she and co-defendants made unauthorized charges using the banking information of a deceased victim.
The investigation was conducted by Wesley Crowe of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, along with Jacob Watson and Seth Vanderwerken of the Hickory Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Howard Wellons prosecuted the case with assistance from Legal Assistant Meredith Scott.
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