Duplin County man receives more than 14 Years in Federal Prison, pipe bombs, trafficking methamphetamine
From Duplin County Sheriff’s Office Facebook
Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina
Duplin County Man Receives More Than 14 Years in Federal Prison for Pipe Bombs and Trafficking More Than a Kilogram of Methamphetamine.
NEW BERN, N.C. – Victor Gonzales, 35, of Duplin County, was sentenced to 176 months in prison for (1) Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing Methamphetamine, (2) Distribution of 50 grams or more of a substance containing Methamphetamine and (3) Possession of destructive device pipe bombs not registered to the defendant in the National Registration and Transfer Records.
According to court documents, evidence presented in court and other documents, on April 7, 2021, the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office conducted a controlled purchase of two ounces of methamphetamine from Gonzales at his residence on Albert Grady Road in Mount Olive. A second controlled purchase of approximately two ounces of methamphetamine was completed on April 12, 2021, from the same location.
On April 13, 2021, Duplin County Detectives served a search warrant on two addresses on Albert Grady Road associated with Gonzales. Gonzales was arrested during the serving of the search warrants. In a van in the yard, law enforcement found a box with digital scales and 146 grams of methamphetamine. A safe inside of the residence contained a homemade pipe bomb. Law enforcement found a loaded AR-15 in a car parked in the driveway. During a search of the property at the second residence, the following items were found: 6 homemade pipe bombs, a .22 caliber pistol and .25 caliber pistol. Following his arrest, Gonzales stated that he was going to find out who was “snitching” and that it was not going to be pretty. ATF neutralized the explosive devices.
According to law enforcement, Gonzales is associated with the SUR 13 gang. The investigation revealed that Gonzales was involved in the distribution of more than a kilogram of methamphetamine from October 2019 until the time of his arrest in April 2021.
This is part of operation “Fighting Jelly Fish” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office and the Wilmington Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-cr-00061-FL.
