Staff report
GREENSBORO ó Four Rowan County men were indicted on federal criminal violations during the April 2008 Federal Grand Jury session for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Indictments were returned on Monday and Tuesday for Tamin Rajan Benjamin, of Kannapolis; Justin Brent Miller, of Rockwell; and Richard Darryl Pruitt and Kamario Emmanuel Palmer, both of Salisbury.
Anna Mills Wagoner, U.S. attorney for the Middle District, announced the indictments in a press release on Wednesday.
Benjamin, 26, was charged in a single-count indictment with possession with intent to distribute approximately 432 grams of cocaine-base “crack” on March 12. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to life imprisonment, up to a $4 million fine and at least five years of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment less than life.
He is in custody and is scheduled to be arraigned May 8.
Miller, 28, was charged in a single-count indictment with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The offense is alleged to have occurred on Oct. 4, 2007, with the firearm in question being an Iver Johnson .22-caliber rifle.
It is further alleged that Miller had a previous felony conviction at the time he possessed the weapon, from March 30, 2007, in Rowan County Superior Court, for the offenses of possession of a firearm by a felon and larceny of a firearm.
If convicted, he faces up to a 10-year sentence, up to a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment imposed. Miller is not currently in custody.
Pruitt, 40, was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His offense is alleged to have occurred on Oct. 24, 2007, with the firearm in question being a Llama .45 caliber pistol.
He was convicted in Rowan County Superior Court on May 6, 1994, of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. If convicted of the possession of a firearm charge, Pruitt faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release to follow any prison time.
He is in custody and is scheduled to be arraigned in June.
Palmer, 31, was charged in a single-count indictment with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Wagoner’s office said the offense allegedly occurred Jan. 22. The firearm was a Llama .45-caliber pistol.
Palmer’s previous felony conviction ó possession of a stolen firearm ó came in Rowan County District Court in September 2004. If convicted of the federal charge, Palmer faces up to 10 years in prison followed by up to three years of probation and a fine of up to $250,000.
He is in custody and scheduled to be arraigned in June.
In the press release, Wagoner said the indictments “demonstrate the positive outcome of cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies” and she called them “a serious attempt to address violent crime in Rowan County.”