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Press Release

Raleigh Gang Member Sentenced to 8 Years for Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted Felon

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh gang member was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for Possession of Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

According to court documents and information presented in court, Wayne Dominic Bennett, Jr., 25, also known as “Banga Loc,” was arrested after a search of his residence and a vehicle in which he was traveling, resulted in the seizure of a stolen .40 caliber handgun, less than a gram of fentanyl, and a semi-automatic 7.62 caliber assault rifle loaded with a 30-round magazine.

The investigation, led by agents and task force officers assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Raleigh-Durham Safe Streets Task Force, revealed that Bennett, a validated member of the Eight Trey Gangster Crip street gang, had engaged in a video chat with another suspected gang member where he had displayed a firearm. Agents were able to identify Bennett because of a visible facial tattoo of a Pyrex Cup. A review of social media and evidence from other sources also showed Bennett in possession of firearms. Bennett, who was on post-release supervision after serving a state prison sentence for selling cocaine, was ultimately caught after FBI agents and Raleigh Police Department Officers surveilled him at his listed probation address in Raleigh.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The FBI Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Crosby  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. 5:20-cr-00531-BO-1.

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Updated July 28, 2021

Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Drug Trafficking