Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. ordered Jerry Lee Edwards, 30, of Charlotte, to serve 130 months in prison and three years of supervised release on drug and firearm charges, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by C.J. Hyman, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

According to filed court documents and statements made in court, on August 15, 2013, while investigating criminal activity near the Sugar Creek/Interstate 85 corridor, law enforcement arrested Edwards, who was in a vehicle parked in a hotel parking lot in the area. According to court records, at the time of his arrest, Edward possessed cocaine, crack cocaine, and a set of digital weight scales. Law enforcement also recovered three firearms, one of which was later determined to be stolen. According to court records, Edwards has a prior North Carolina conviction of robbery with a dangerous weapon and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Court records show that in May 2014, Edwards was found guilty by a bench trial of one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

In handing down today’s sentence, Judge Cogburn stated that, "Edwards had a very serious criminal record, and a 130-month sentence will hold him responsible for his criminal actions. Individuals with that many firearms in their vehicle are up to no good."

Edwards has been in federal custody since August 2013. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The investigation was handled by ATF and CMPD. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

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