Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds light and variable..

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.

A Rocky Mount man was arrested Thursday on charges of dealing in firearms without a federal firearms license and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Antonio Joseph Santos, 49, was taken into custody after a case was developed after the Nash County Sheriff’s Office’s Narcotics Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives received information from a confidential informant about Santos selling firearms in Rocky Mount, U.S. District Court records said.

Between May and this month, Santos illegally sold firearms to the informant, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

An affidavit filed by an ATF task force officer, in support of a criminal complaint against Santos, stated the following occurred under the direction of the Nash County Sheriff’s Office:

On May 10, the confidential informant bought a 9mm handgun with an obliterated serial number for $360. During this controlled purchase, Santos was caught via audio and video equipment holding a bookbag and showing various firearms to the informant. Surveilling agents also saw Santos walk to the informant’s vehicle with a handgun.

Additionally, the affidavit said ATF agents and Edgecombe County sheriff’s detectives June 1 retrieved interior video surveillance footage from the storage unit facility, which showed Santos and a woman retrieving multiple wrapped items from the storage unit.

Business records from the storage facility revealed the renter in question for the unit had the same address as Santos, the affidavit said.

The affidavit said Nash County sheriff’s and Rocky Mount police detectives July 8 executed search warrants at Santos’ residence and at the storage unit.

Inside the residence, Rocky Mount police found two firearms, with one being an AR-15-style rifle with a drum magazine and the other being an AK-47-style assault rifle in the bedroom. At the storage unit, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office found four more firearms, with one being a .308-caliber bolt-action rifle, one being a .22-caliber revolver and the other two being .22-caliber rifles, the affidavit said.

The bolt-action rifle was reported stolen from Ahoskie in 2019, the affidavit said.

The affidavit also said several firearm boxes, assorted ammunition and magazines and a pistol conversion kit were found inside the storage unit.

The affidavit said Santos has a prior record in New Haven, Conn., for having committed first-degree failure to appear, possession of narcotics and carrying a dangerous weapon, all in 1995, and for having committed second-degree larceny in 1998.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, in the news release Thursday, said Santos, if convicted, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Comments about the arrest as part of the news release, including by U.S. Attorney Michael Easley Jr., Edgecombe County Sheriff Clee Atkinson, Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone and Rocky Mount Police Chief Robert Hassell, can be viewed online at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr.

www.RockyMountTelegram.com 1151 Falls Road Suite 2008 Rocky Mount, NC 27804 Main Phone: 252-446-5161 Customer Care Phone: 252-329-9505

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