HAMPTON, Va. — A Hampton man has pleaded guilty to federal and drug charges on Tuesday, the Department of Justice said.
Erick Allen Osby, 29, was charged with distributing cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, on Jan.15, 2024, a Newport News police officer saw Osby showing a gun to another person in a parking lot on Warwick Boulevard. That officer informed another officer who was on the other side of Warwick.
When the officers approached Osby, prosecutors said he ran across Warwick toward his car. He threw his cell phone and a loaded .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun into the median before police caught him.
Investigators recovered a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun from his car, a shotgun cartridge, two digital scales, drug paraphernalia, and 20.72 grams of cocaine from Osby's pocket. He is a previously convicted felon, so he can't legally possess a firearm or ammunition.
Osby is scheduled for sentencing on Feb.13, 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a consecutive sentence of a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison for the firearm charge.
