NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Gloucester County man was sentenced Tuesday on multiple charges stemming from a shooting in 2020.
The Department of Justice said 39-year-old Nathan DeAlbert Mattocks was sentenced to 35 years in prison for drug, firearms, witness tampering and retaliation, and obstruction of justice.
Court documents said in August of 2020, Gloucester deputies received an emergency call from someone saying they were driving on a main road in Gloucester County and were being shot at by someone following in another vehicle.
Investigators later found the suspect vehicle with Mattocks inside it. He was arrested after officers said they also found pills containing fentanyl and a semi-automatic pistol near the crime scene that was connected to Mattocks.
Prosecutors said that while Mattocks was awaiting trial, he learned of potential witnesses who told investigators about the shooting and his prior drug dealing.
While he was in jail, Mattocks approached another inmate, described as a "known violent gang member," and asked for help to find others who could "get rid of these witnesses by killing them or otherwise making sure they would not appear in court" in exchange for drugs.
Mattocks gave the gang member a note with the names and information about the potential witnesses. One of those witnesses did eventually testify in the July 2022 trial.
Mattocks would go on to be convicted of the shooting charge, as well as charges that included witness tampering and retaliation, and obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors said during the course of the investigation, it was revealed Mattocks had a long history of dealing drugs including methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin through the Middle Peninsula region.
