Former NC deputy gets 4 years in prison for stealing guns, drugs
A former Gates County deputy was sentenced Tuesday to four years in federal prison for stealing guns and drugs that were evidence in criminal cases, authorities said.
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Brandon Scott Hawks, 35, of Ayden, pleaded guilty in February to two counts of possession of a stolen firearm.
Hawks, who was a sergeant with the Gates County Sheriff's Office, routinely snagged guns and drugs seized during traffic stops between 2014 and 2017, authorities said. He also stole or mishandled various types of illegal drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, crack, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, authorities said.
Investigators discovered many of the drugs during searches of his house and patrol car.
Hawks was fired from the sheriff's office in December 2017, on the same day authorities found the stolen guns and drugs, authorities said.
"There is nothing more discouraging or disruptive to the proper enforcement of the law than an officer who violates the public trust by engaging in criminal conduct, but that is just what Brandon Scott Hawks did," U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon said in a statement. "His sentence reflects the seriousness of his crime."
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