WILMINGTON, NC – A Chadbourn man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and 3 years’ supervised release for possession of a gun used in drug trafficking. On April 22, 2021, Paul Freeman pleaded guilty to the charges.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, 39-year-old Freeman owned a 9mm pistol in connection with his sales of crack and cocaine. In the spring of 2020, law enforcement received complaints that Freeman was selling drugs from his home in Chadbourn. Freeman had previously been convicted of multiple drug offenses and also had state drug-related criminal charges pending in 2017 and 2018. In March 2020, law enforcement made a controlled purchase of Freeman at his residence and obtained a search warrant that was carried out on March 11, 2020. The search found paraphernalia, digital scales, amounts of crack and cocaine, and a 9mm pistol together in a closet at Freeman’s residence.
G. Norman Acker, III, Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced this following his conviction by US District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case, and U.S. Assistant Attorney Bryan Stephany is pursuing the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for all. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina implements the PSN program as part of their Take Back North Carolina Initiative. This initiative emphasizes the regional task of federal prosecutors to work permanently with law enforcement agencies and district attorneys in these communities to reduce violent crime, drug trafficking and crimes against law enforcement.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACEMAKER by searching for Case # 7: 20-CR-00097-M.
