NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Gloucester, Virginia man on Monday on charges of methamphetamine trafficking and related firearms charges.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Eric Lee Smith, 40, engaged in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in Gloucester County and surrounding areas in 2019 and 2020. Smith and other conspirators obtained quantities of methamphetamine from Arizona and caused it to be transported to Virginia, where Smith stored it in various locations and distributed it for profit. Smith also possessed firearms in the course of the conspiracy. On November 25, 2020, Smith was in possession of an illegal machine gun and unregistered silencer. Smith used the machine gun to shoot another individual.
Smith was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, using and maintaining drug premises, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, illegal possession of a machine gun, and possession of an unregistered firearm. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 15 years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment across the various convictions prison when sentenced on August 8. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Charlie J. Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the verdict.
Special thanks to Mathews County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa McKeel and Devon Heath are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:21-cr-42.