KENNETH GORDON WAID III - 1 Month (2006) - Jacksonville NC

A Jacksonville man who pleaded guilty in May to shaking his son to death four years ago has been found guilty of dealing cocaine while a member of the U.S. Coast Guard.





Kenneth Waid Jr., 32, was found guilty by a federal jury Wednesday of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distributing five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Waid is in prison serving a four-to-six-year sentence after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in the Sept. 22, 2006, death of his 43-day-old son, Kenneth Gordon Waid III.
A federal drug trafficking trial for Waid began in May just days after his guilty plea to manslaughter was entered in Onslow County, but was halted when a judge declared a mistrial for juror misconduct, said Robin Zier, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in eastern North Carolina.
During his second trial, which lasted two days, evidence was presented that Waid sold cocaine from February 2006 to May 2006 while a petty officer third class in the Coast Guard.
“During that time, Waid bought and sold cocaine out of his residence in Jacksonville,” said George Holding, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Sentencing for Waid will take place in approximately 90 days. He faces up to 40 years imprisonment, Zier said.
Waid’s arrest by the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office in 2006 came about after a medical examiner noticed skull fractures during an autopsy of Waid’s son. Although there was no noticeable maltreatment of the child when he died, an autopsy two days later revealed evidence of child abuse.
The child’s cause of death was bleeding in the brain “with multiple fractures secondary to child abuse,” according to medical reports.
Waid’s attorney in the state’s case, Jacksonville lawyer Scott Jack, said Waid was under duress at the time of his child’s death because his wife, Rachael Waid, was addicted to methamphetamines and brandished a gun at him.
Jack said the couple jerked their son back and forth while arguing.
Rachael Waid, 28, of Blue Creek Road, was not charged in her son’s death. She is in prison for a probation violation stemming from 2007 larceny charges. Prior to being sent to the N.C. Correctional Institute for Women in Raleigh, she was under a $1 million bond in the Onslow County Jail for a December arrest on drug charges.A man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to killing his son now faces up to 40 years in prison for dealing cocaine.A jury found Kenneth Waid Jr., 32, guilty Wednesday of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distributing 500 grams or more of cocaine, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.Waid was indicted in Aug. 28, 2009, for buying and selling cocaine out of his Jacksonville home.He sold approximately five kilograms of cocaine from February to May 2006, while on active duty in the Coast Guard on active duty.Waid’s sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days. He faces up to 40 years imprisonment.Investigation of this case was conducted by the United States Coast Guard. Assistant United States Attorney Rudy E. Renfer represented the government.Waid pleaded guilty in April to involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in the Sept. 22, 2006, death of his 43-day-old son, Kenneth Gordon Waid III.