Keith Mark Tipton
Robbinsville – A local man was convicted Friday on three felonies, related to drug possession and violation of a domestic-violence protection order.
Keith Mark Tipton, 54 of the Beech Creek community, was sentenced to serve between 225-282 months (18 ¾-23 ½ years) in prison, after a three-day jury trial in Graham County Superior Court. He was found guilty of possession with intent to sell/distribute a schedule III controlled substance; trafficking in buprenorphine by possession; and possession of ammunition in violation of a domestic-violence order – all felonies.
The 970 days Tipton has already served while in custody will be credited toward the sentence.
Tipton will serve 6-17 months for the possession of ammunition charge and also be subjected to 18 months of supervised probation following his release for simple possession of a schedule VI controlled substance, which is a misdemeanor.
He was also ordered to pay a total of $542,901.50 between attorney fees, court costs and fines.
Court documents state that a search warrant was executed at Tipton's residence on Sept. 19, 2022. He was found to be in possession of Suboxone, a schedule III substance that contains buprenorphine; as well as 28 grams of a "mixture" containing buprenorphine, which is a schedule III opioid.
Authorities also located four rounds of .40-caliber ammunition while conducting a body search. Tipton's misdemeanor occurred when officers also discovered marijuana during the search.
Tipton has already filed appeals relating to Friday's sentences, which were handed down by District 25B (Catawba County) Superior Court Judge Gregory R. Hayes.
Tipton represented himself during the trial, though Murphy-based attorney Mitchell Brewer was on-hand as his legal counsel.
Assistant district attorneys James H. Moore and Shelli Buckner represented the prosecution.
The case was pieced together by Graham County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Det. Graham Page.