Ten indicted in Carter County drug trafficking investigation

Published 4:23 pm Wednesday, July 9, 2025

1/10
Zachary Allen Carr
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A Carter County Grand Jury has indicted 10 individuals on drug-related charges following a joint investigation into fentanyl trafficking by the Carter County Sheriff’s Office and the First Judicial District Drug Task Force.

The investigation, dubbed Operation Blue Skies, focused on a network allegedly led by Noah William Cooper, 20, of Kingsport. Authorities say Cooper oversaw a group of individuals working to distribute controlled substances throughout the region.

On Monday, the grand jury returned indictments on the following individuals:

Charges include conspiracy to distribute 150 grams or more of a controlled substance, possession of controlled substances, sale of Schedule I and II substances, maintaining a dwelling for drug activity, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

Messer and Cooper are in federal custody on related charges. Felts is being held without bond at the Carter County Detention Center on this indictment and a second-degree murder charge in a juvenile overdose death.

Hudson and Shipley are being held at the CCDC with $125,000 bonds. Carr, Miller, and Harvey are each being held on $100,000 bonds. Collins and Kelley were previously released on $100,000 bonds.

The Elizabethton Police Department, Johnson City Police Department, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation assisted in the investigation.