North Carolina man sentenced for pipe bombs, meth trafficking

Published 8:43 am Sunday, February 27, 2022

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A federal judge has sentenced a North Carolina man to 176 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine and being in possession of multiple pipe bombs and firearms, prosecutors said.

Victor Gonzales, 35, of Duplin County, was sentenced on Friday on multiple charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Court documents and other evidence indicated the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office made two controlled purchases of two ounces of methamphetamine from Gonzales at his residence in April 2021.

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Gonzales was arrested as he was served with a search warrant after the transactions, according to a news release. In a van in the yard, officers found a box with digital scales and 146 grams of methamphetamine. A safe inside the residence contained a homemade pipe bomb, officials said. An AR-15 rifle was found in a car parked in the driveway.

A search of a second property turned up six homemade pipe bombs and two pistols.

According to law enforcement, Gonzales is associated with the SUR 13 gang and was involved in the distribution of more than a kilogram of methamphetamine from October 2019 until the time of his arrest in April 2021.

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