Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

GREENSBORO, N.C. – A Laurinburg man who sold firearms and cocaine was sentenced to federal prison today, announced Matthew G.T. Martin, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.

VONERIC LAQUANE PRIMUS pleaded guilty on September 5, 2018, to six counts of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, four counts of distribution of cocaine base ("crack"), and one count of possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. PRIMUS was sentenced by United States District Judge N. Carlton Tilley Jr. to 180 months of imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

On six occasions beginning on May 2, 2018, and ending on June 6, 2018, PRIMUS sold firearms and crack cocaine to a confidential informant working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. PRIMUS sold a total of seven handguns and approximately 252 grams of crack cocaine during that period, with all of those sales occurring in Scotland County, North Carolina. PRIMUS had previously been convicted of state felonies for discharging a weapon into occupied property, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Laurinburg Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anand P. Ramaswamy for the Middle District of North Carolina.

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