Undercover investigations resulted in a prison sentence for a Vale man. 50-year-old Larry Dean Smith, Jr. will serve six to eight years in prison following his conviction for two counts of trafficking cocaine by possession. He entered a guilty plea during Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday (June 2).

The Honorable Athena F. Brooks, Superior Court Judge from Henderson County, imposed terms of the active sentence. Smith (pictured) also will be required to pay a mandatory fine of $100,000.

On May 14, 2025, an undercover purchase of a trafficking amount of cocaine was made from Smith in the roadway in front of his residence. A second undercover buy of a trafficking amount of cocaine from the defendant took place in his driveway on July 9, 2025.

The State Crime Lab confirmed the drugs seized to be trafficking amounts of cocaine. Samuel Helms handled the investigation for the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Melanie Earles prosecuted the matter for the state.