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Anthony Jamaal Lee, 32, of Kinston, was sentenced June 30, 2021 to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina. Lee pleaded guilty to the charge on March 25, 2021.

According to court documents and statements made during hearings, on July 11, 2019, a Goldsboro Police Department patrol officer spotted a white Cadillac tailgating another car on the Highway 70 service road in Goldsboro. “As the Cadillac turned into a Days Inn parking lot, the officer saw that its brake lights were not functioning,” stated the release. “He initiated a traffic stop and could smell marijuana as he approached. The driver was identified as defendant Anthony Lee.”

Lee was questioned about the marijuana and admitted to having smoked in the car earlier in the day, stated the release.

“The officers then searched the car and found a Taurus 9mm handgun in a small compartment near the rear central armrest, along with a bag that contained marijuana,” the release continued. “Lee was prohibited from possessing the handgun due to felony state convictions in 2013 and 2014 for carrying concealed firearms.”

Later in 2019, Lee became the subject of a drug investigation in Kinston. “On November 21, 2019, a confidential informant fitted with a video recording device conducted a controlled purchase of marijuana and ecstasy from Lee at Lee’s Kinston home,” the release continued. “The informant reported to law enforcement that Lee had a black gun on his hip when he came to the door. A short time later, Lee left the house in his white Cadillac and was pulled over and taken into custody. Officers executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered a black Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol, as well as some marijuana and ecstasy.”

G. Norman Acker III, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Kinston Police Department, Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office, Goldsboro Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.

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