ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — An Elizabeth City man was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from two separate shootings, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday.
Manuel Gonzalez, 29, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon.
Prosecutors said one of the shootings happened on Feb. 15, 2021, when a dispute over drugs led him to fire a handgun toward two people inside an Elizabeth City home. While firing multiple shots, the DOJ said a bullet went through a wall and into a bedroom where a woman was sleeping. No one was seriously hurt in that incident, however.
Just days later on Feb. 19, law enforcement officers served Gonzalez with warrants for a search and his arrest. During a search of the hotel room he was staying in, the DOJ said police found a fully loaded Glock 22 .40 caliber ammunition, a loaded extended magazine, and a small amount of cocaine.
Ballistics testing confirmed the Glock handgun recovered was used in the Feb. 15 shooting. That testing also linked the firearm to a shooting on Jan. 30, 2021, where a victim was shot multiple times, officials said.
“This defendant fired a rain of bullets in a drug dispute, including into a home where a woman was sleeping," said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. "His eight-year sentence should stand as a warning. Violent felons driving gun violence should put down their guns or face federal prison."
