Conviction, Pleas Lead to Prison

A Green Acres drug trafficker has been sentenced to 35-51 months in prison after a conviction led to a plea deal in two separate narcotics cases.

Banks Raphel Batton, 37, was found guilty of trafficking in cocaine and other offenses following an arrest in June 2021, the district attorney’s office said. After he was found guilty by a jury, Batten pleaded guilty to drug offenses stemming from a narcotics raid in September 2022.

He was originally charged charged with trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine and marijuana, maintaining a dwelling for drug activities, and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, according to jail records.

Deputies and detectives recovered cocaine, thousands of dollars in cash, firearms, digital scales, marijuana and a money counting machine from his residence.

In an unrelated case, Phillip Ruffin of New York was sentenced to 70 to 93 months (2.9 to nine years) in prison for a drug arrest in August 2023. Ruffin and his brother Michael of Whiteville were stopped for a suspended license tag. Phillip Ruffin had 15 grams of Oxycodone hidden in his pants, the district attorney said.

Michael Ruffin pled guilty earlier this year and was given the same sentence.