Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, John Stuart Bruce, announced that today in federal court, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III sentenced EDWIN LEO BROWN, 28, of Jacksonville, to 210 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.

On May 1, 2017, BROWN pled guilty to four counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine Base (Crack) and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.

According to the Indictment and information in the public records, BROWN, was targeted as a distributor of narcotics in the Jacksonville area. It was determined that from at least November 2015 to April 2016, BROWN was a mid-level drug trafficker who distributed quantities of crack cocaine to his clientele in Onslow County, North Carolina. As a result, agents utilized a confidential informant (CI) to conduct several controlled purchases of crack cocaine from BROWN in Jacksonville.

On April 16, 2016, the Jacksonville Police Department responded to a call for service where the homeowner requested assistance in removing BROWN, who was drunk and disorderly, from a social gathering at her home. BROWN was verbally abusive toward the officer, and refused multiple directives from him to leave the presmises. During the attempt to arrest BROWN for being intoxicated and disruptive, BROWN pulled away from the officer, turned around, and swung with a closed fist, hitting the officer in the face. BROWN attempted to swing his fist a second time at the officer, but he missed. As the officer and BROWN tumbled to the ground, BROWN punched the officer in the nose, causing it to bleed. At some point during the struggle, BROWN, who possessed a loaded, concealed handgun, removed his firearm and used it to strike the officer on his head. The officer sustained a concussion, a partially-torn rotator cuff, a chipped tooth, and bruises and cuts to his head, face, and body.

A back-up officer arrived to assist in the struggle. BROWN continued his abusive behavior by punching and kicking the officer. BROWN continued to resist arrest, but was ultimately subdued and apprehended by both officers. Following the assault, officers seized BROWN’S firearm, a loaded 9mm handgun with one round in the chamber. During the entire struggle, the firearm was within a few feet of BROWN, and BROWN made multiple attempts to retrieve it.

The investigation was conducted by the Jacksonville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Peggah Wilson prosecuted the case for the government.

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