Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced last week that 35-year-old Phong Duc Nguyen of Statesville, was sentenced to 182 months in prison and five years of supervised release for a federal firearms offense.
According to court documents and last week’s sentencing hearing, in the early hours of November 25, 2019, an officer with the Monroe Police Department conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle Nguyen was driving. Over the course of the traffic stop, the officer determined that Nguyen’s license was suspended and that there were multiple outstanding warrants for his arrest.
While placing Nguyen under arrest, the officer found a firearm holster and ammunition in Nguyen’s pants pocket. Court records show that when the officer searched Nguyen’s vehicle, he located a firearm on the right side of the driver’s seat, and found marijuana and crack cocaine elsewhere inside the vehicle.
On February 17, 2021, Nguyen pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. At last week’s sentencing hearing, the Court classified Nguyen as an “Armed Career Criminal.” Nguyen is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.