United Blood Gang Member Sentenced for Firearm Possession

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh Blood Gang member was sentenced today to 66 months’ imprisonment for illegally possessing a firearm in Raleigh.

According to court documents, Emmanuel Brent Sanders, 25, was named in a one-count Indictment filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina on August 22, 2019.  The Indictment charged Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. On January 7, 2020, the defendant pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

 On March 21, 2019, Officers from the Raleigh Police Department Gang Suppression Unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle because a wanted subject was spotted inside the vehicle. The individual seated in the driver’s seat was identified as Sanders. Officers observed marijuana on the floor boards of the vehicle, and so the occupants were removed from the vehicle and a probable cause search was conducted.  Underneath the driver’s seat, officers found a loaded Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine and a round in the chamber. The firearm was listed as stolen in NCIC.  Sanders was arrested for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

Robert J. Higdon, 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 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel W. Smith  prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-cr-00335-D-1.

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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.