Roanoke Man Pleads Guilty to Drug, Gun Charges

Roanoke, VIRGINIA – A Roanoke man pled guilty this morning to a pair of federal charges related to cocaine distribution and illegal firearms possession, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Antonio Maurice Payne, 29, of Roanoke, Va., pled guilty this morning in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and one count of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Roanoke City Police Department conducted the investigation of the case. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Bassford prosecuted the case for the United States.