Greenville Man Sentenced to Prison for Drug and Gun Offenses

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced DEMETRIUS AUSHELLE SUGGS, 39, of Greenville, NC to a total of 102 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

SUGGS was named in an Indictment filed on April 10, 2019, charging him with possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.  On August 22, 2019, SUGGS pled guilty to those charges. 

According to the investigation, officers with the Greenville Police Department encountered SUGGS in his vehicle parked on the side of the road.  As the officers were speaking with SUGGS, they observed a bag containing marijuana on the floorboard of the vehicle.  When the officers attempted to detain SUGGS, he fled on foot.  After a brief chase, SUGGS was detained and searched.  A search of SUGGS and his vehicle led to the discovery of two bags containing 4.32 grams of cocaine and a loaded TEC-9 handgun with a high capacity magazine.  At the time of his arrest, SUGGS had previously been convicted of several drug-related felonies in North Carolina. 

This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking and crimes against law enforcement.  For additional information about this initiative, click here https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Greenville Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney John Parris represented the government.