ICSO deputies seized methamphetamine, handgun from defendant’s vehicle after crash
Special to IFN
An Ohio man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on drug and weapon charges stemming from an investigation by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.
Michael Lamar Gaines, 40, of Akron, Ohio, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine and illegal possession of a firearm, Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced Wednesday.
Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell join King in making the announcement.
According to court records, on February 6, 2023, an ICSO deputy Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop of Gaines’s vehicle on Interstate 77 for a traffic violation. Gaines did not comply and instead fled at a high rate of speed.
Gaines’ vehicle left the roadway multiple times and nearly struck other vehicles as he attempted to evade law enforcement, according to court records. Ultimately, Gaines crashed his vehicle after exiting I-77 and running a stop sign. Gaines then attempted to flee on foot before he was apprehended.
After Gaines was taken into custody, law enforcement searched his vehicle and found a handgun with an extended magazine and two bags that contained nearly half a kilogram of methamphetamine, according to court records. Deputies also seized $8,940 in cash that Gaines had on his person.
Gaines has multiple prior criminal convictions, including drug trafficking and theft, and he is prohibited from possessing firearms.
On February 2, 2024, Gaines pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
The ATF and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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I’d be surprised if he serves half of this time! He shouldn’t have been out to start with.
Fed time is done all the way through. He has to complete the whole sentence. There is no early release.
He was convicted because of his color! Murderer gets less time than that. It’s crazy how so many people judge but if that was your son or a white man he would be in rehab.
He pleaded guilty. That means, HE DID IT. Maybe you should volunteer to rehab him at your house. When the folks that own the drugs come to find him, maybe you can rehab them also. Maybe after rehab, the next time he runs from the Police he won’t hit and kill a member of your family.