Ezriel Pagan, Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, North Carolina 2018

The grim reaper of North Carolina’s streets met its match when Ezriel Pagan, 41, a Jacksonville native, was sentenced to a decade behind bars for his role in a brazen parking lot shooting.

United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan handed down the sentence after Pagan pleaded guilty on October 18, 2018, to three counts: possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

It all began at Hooligans Pub & Music Hall in Jacksonville when officers were called to the scene of multiple gunshots fired around 2:00 a.m. on February 18, 2018. Pagan, behind the wheel of a red Nissan, was quickly apprehended and found with a Colt .380 caliber handgun beneath his seat. The evidence of his crime lay in four shell casings left at the scene.

But it was Pagan’s own words that led to more incriminating evidence. During jail calls to his girlfriend, he referenced ‘baby food’ as the reason for reclaiming his impounded car. Detectives interpreted this as a code for narcotics and secured a search warrant. Inside, they found two bags of heroin, marijuana, and hydrocodone.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and making neighborhoods safer. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has been instrumental in the Take Back North Carolina Initiative, targeting violent criminals and drug trafficking with relentless vigor.

The Jacksonville Police Department, Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jake D. Pugh led the prosecution.

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