Felon in Possession of Handgun and AR-15 Rifle in Nash County Sentenced to 10 Years

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Benson man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.  On October 7, 2024, Keith Antonio Mcdougald, age 34, pled guilty to the offense.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Mcdougald was found in Nash County by the Nash County Sherriff’s deputies in a disabled vehicle on I-95 blocking all traffic. Mcdougald initially gave a false name to law enforcement and admitted to smoking marijuana in the vehicle. Inside of the vehicle, deputies located an AR-15 rifle loaded with a large capacity magazine containing 41 rounds of ammunition, a 10mm pistol and a loaded 10mm magazine, six grams of marijuana, a glass pipe, 22.87 grams of a mixture containing heroin, fentanyl, ANPP, and flourofentanyl (a fentanyl analogue) and 7.57 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and ANPP. Mcdougald admitted to traveling to Virginia to purchase tires from someone through Facebook Marketplace and that he needed to take “something” with him in case the seller tried to rob him for the money.

Mcdougald was sentenced as a career offender and has four prior felony convictions including two counts of felony assault by strangulation, intimidation of a witness, and attempted obtaining property by false pretenses. 

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Sandling and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Aria Q. Merle prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-00203-FL.

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