FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WEDNESDAY - March 5, 2008

ZEBULON MAN SENTENCED TO 96 MONTHS IN PRISON

WILMINGTON - United States Attorney George E. B. Holding announced that in federal court United States District Judge James C. Fox sentenced WAYNE DOUGLAS WILSON, 35, of Zebulon, North Carolina, to 96 months’ imprisonment and 3 years supervised release.

WILSON, a previously convicted felon, was found guilty by a jury on November 21, 2007, of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On January 15, 2007, officers with the Zebulon Police Department were conducting a Driver’s License checkpoint. The officers observed a vehicle attempt to evade the checkpoint and followed the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, WILSON, existed his car and took off running. Officers pursued WILSON who threw a loaded Highpoint 9mm, model C9, semi-automatic handgun.

“As long as convicted felons continue to disobey our laws, we will continue to vigorously prosecute them. In doing this, our goal is two-fold; to remove dangerous criminals from our streets in order to make the streets safer for our law abiding citizens and to send a strong message to those that break the law–that we will not tolerate their behavior,” stated United States Attorney George Holding.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Zebulon Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jane Jackson served as prosecutor for the government.

News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.