Two Defendants Sentenced in Rutherford County Death by Distribution Cases

On August 25, 2025, Nathan Carpenter Beason pleaded guilty to two counts of Death by Distribution in Rutherford County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 134 to 186 months (11 to 14 years) in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

One of the charges was connected to a March 2022 investigation by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office following a fatal overdose. Warrants in that case were issued on October 17, 2022. The second charge resulted from a separate investigation by the Rutherfordton Police Department in 2020, with warrants issued on December 30, 2024.

Investigators from both agencies were credited for their persistence in pursuing the cases, which ultimately led to the charges.

In relation to the Sheriff’s Office investigation, a co-defendant, Evelyn Robertson, pleaded guilty to one count of Death by Distribution on August 18, 2025. She is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office expressed appreciation to the Rutherfordton Police Department for its work in the case against Beason and thanked the District Attorney’s Office for its role in prosecuting the cases.