News and Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TUESDAY - November 10, 2009

CONVICTED FELON PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSING
A FIREARM DURING A DRUG TRAFFICKING CRIME

GREENVILLE - United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court yesterday ROWLAND PHILLIP ROBINSON, 33, of Goldsboro, North Carolina, pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge David W. Daniel to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, in violation of Title 18, United Stats Code, Section 924(c).

A Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment on May 27, 2009.

On July 16, 2008, the Goldsboro Police Department received a tip that ROBINSON was selling cocaine and marijuana from a residence on North William Street in Goldsboro and that he also had a firearm. After further investigation, a search warrant was obtained and executed. Seized from ROBINSON’s bedroom were 120 grams of crack cocaine, two other plastic bags of crack cocaine and marijuana, a North Carolina Department of Corrections ID card bearing the name and picture of ROBINSON, and a box of sandwich bags, a razor blade with white powder substance, and two sets of digital scalesalong with a Rossi .38 caliber handgun.

Other items with in the house that were seized included a police scanner and a Davis Industries .380 caliber handgun.

On ROBINSON’s person police found one bag containing 20 grams of cocaine, two orange pills, and $980.

The maximum penalty for the charge is up to a life term of imprisonment followed by up to five years supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods(PSN) which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Goldsboro Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney William Gilmore represented 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.