Source: Office of United States Attorneys
RALEIGH, N.C. – Kevon Bracey, age 26, of Wilmington, was sentenced to 196 months in prison and six years of supervised release, after fleeing from police with a bag containing cocaine and a fully automatic machinegun. On September 3, 2024, Bracey pled guilty to the charges.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on February 22, 2024, the Wilmington Police Department was investigating narcotics activity in the South Turners Run area. Officers approached a vehicle where Bracey was a passenger. Bracey exited the vehicle carrying a bag and fled on foot. After a brief chase, police detained Bracey. They searched the area where he had fled and found the bag he had discarded during his escape.
The bag contained a loaded 9mm handgun that had been converted into a fully automatic machine gun with an extended magazine. In addition, it held quantities of crack and powdered cocaine. Law enforcement identified Bracey as a validated gang member and noted his extensive criminal history. He has previous convictions for possession of a stolen firearm, possession with intent to distribute heroin, and selling heroin in 2017, as well as possession of a firearm by a felon and discharging a firearm within city limits in 2020. In 2021, he was again convicted of possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon. Due to these convictions, Bracey was prohibited from possessing any firearms.
This investigation was 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 F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Firearms (ATF) 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. 7:24-CR-00028-D.