Kevon Bracey, a 26-year-old resident of Wilmington, has been sentenced to 196 months in prison followed by six years of supervised release. This follows his guilty plea on September 3, 2024, after being apprehended with cocaine and a fully automatic machine gun.
The incident occurred on February 22, 2024, when the Wilmington Police Department was investigating narcotics activity in the South Turners Run area. Officers approached a vehicle where Bracey was a passenger. Upon exiting the vehicle with a bag, Bracey fled on foot but was detained after a brief chase. The discarded bag was recovered and found to contain a loaded 9mm handgun converted into an automatic weapon and quantities of crack and powdered cocaine.
Bracey is identified as a validated gang member with an extensive criminal record. His past convictions include possession of stolen firearms, heroin distribution offenses in 2017, firearm possession by a felon, discharging firearms within city limits in 2020, and further firearm-related offenses in 2021. These prior convictions prohibited him from possessing firearms.
The case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation aimed at disrupting high-level drug traffickers and criminal organizations through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr., representing the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the sentencing following U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III's decision. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) along with the Wilmington Police Department conducted the investigation while Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.