Ten indicted in Carter County drug trafficking investigation
Published 4:23 pm Wednesday, July 9, 2025
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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:
- Dylan Lee Messer, 27, of Johnson City
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- Alexys Keyana Shipley, 26, of Lebanon, Va.
- Chase Jonathan Miller, 22, of Johnson City
- Ethan Henry Harvey, 19, of Johnson City
- Matthew Hunter Hudson, 21, of Elizabethton
- Brooklyn Sue Collins, 22, of Elizabethton
- Jesse Calvin Felts III, 22, of Elizabethton
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- Zachary Allen Carr, 24, of Elizabethton
- Ronald Paul Kelley Jr., 54, of Johnson City
- Noah William Cooper, 20, of Kingsport
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.
