Repeat Offender Sentenced: Over 12 Years for Drug and Gun Conviction

WNC -- Allen Shunte Plowden, 38, of Charlotte, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. to 151 months in prison and six years of supervised release for selling cocaine and having a gun without a license.

This was reported by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Ronnie Martinez, who is in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) will join U.S. Attorney King in making the news today.

According to papers and court proceedings, law enforcement started looking into Plowden in May 2020 after hearing that the defendant was selling drugs in the Charlotte area. On September 27, 2020, police searched Plowden's house after getting a search warrant. They found cocaine, drug paraphernalia, digital scales, and other things that could be used to sell drugs. Police also got their hands on $40,000 worth of drug money and 16 illegal guns, some of which had been reported stolen.

On October 25, 2021, Plowden admitted to having cocaine with the plan to sell it and having a gun while he was a convicted felon. At today's court meeting, Plowden's sentence was made worse because he is considered a "Career Offender." This is because he has been convicted of multiple crimes in the past, such as robbery, selling/making cocaine base, and selling a controlled substance near a school.

In his statement today, U.S. Attorney King praised the work of HSI and CMPD in looking into the case.

The case was brought to court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville.

Source: Western District of North Carolina United States Attorney's Office Press Release July 19, 2023

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