FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MONDAY - November 3, 2008
NEW BERN - United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court today Chief United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced MELVIN EMMANUEL GOODWIN, 27, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to 90 months’ imprisonment followed by five years supervised release.
A Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment on February 27, 2008. On July 9, 2008, GOODWIN pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base (crack) and a quantity of heroin. On April 8, 2007, GOODWIN was arrested by deputies with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department and transported and placed in the New Hanover County Jail pre-intake area. Surveillance video revealed that while alone in the pre-intake area, GOODWIN removed 6.8 grams of crack cocaine and .5 grams of heroin from his person, attempting to conceal the drugs under a rubber floor mat. The drugs were recovered after GOODWIN’s release on bond. Further investigation revealed that GOODWIN sold three grams of crack cocaine almost everyday since March, 2007.
Per the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Street Task Force, GOODWIN is a validated gang member.
GOODWIN’s prior convictions include armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and a felony drug charge.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation entitled, Don Quixote.
Mr. Holding complimented the good work of law enforcement in this case: “The boldness of this incorrigible defendant is matched only by the diligence of law enforcement who continued to investigate even after the defendant was arrested. I commend their good efforts in this case.”
Investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New Hanover Sheriff’s Office, and Wilmington Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case. Mr. Severo is a prosecutor with the New Hanover District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Ben David has assigned him to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force criminal matters. This has been made possible by a grant funded by the Governor’s Crime Commission and the New Hanover County Commissioners.
News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.
