Redwood City Resident Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison For Drug And Weapons Charges

SAN FRANCISCO– Craig William Nitsche, II, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of ammunition, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Rayfield Roundtree.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Richard Seeborg, U.S. District Judge.

Nitsche, 35, of Redwood City, Calif., pleaded guilty to the charges on October 9, 2018.  According to his plea agreement, Nitsche admitted that on July 30, 2018, he was driving a beige pickup truck without license plates in Redwood City.  After Nitsche stopped at a gas station, law enforcement officers approached the car.  As they approached, Nitsche pulled a black handgun from his pants pocket, raised the handgun, and then dropped it on the ground.  The law enforcement officers took him into custody.  Nitsche admitted that he knew he had one round chambered in the handgun and twelve additional rounds in the magazine, and that he had 27.1 grams of methamphetamine in the center console of his pickup truck.  Nitsche also admitted he possessed the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it by selling it to other people.

On August 21, 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Nitsche charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); one count of being in possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C); and one count of using or carrying a handgun in furtherance of his possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).  Nitsche pleaded guilty to all three counts.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Seeborg ordered Nitsche to serve a three-year term of supervised release that will begin at the conclusion of his prison term.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lee is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kimberly Richardson.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, and the San Mateo Vehicle Theft Task Force.