Department of Justice

LYNCHBURG, Va. -  Eric Joseph Gravette, who was convicted in September 2020 of federal drug conspiracy and weapons charges, was sentenced recently in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg to 262 months in federal prison, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar, Lynchburg Police Chief Ryan Zuidema, and Charlie Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Washington Field Division  (ATF) announced today. 

Gravette, 37, of Madison Heights, pleaded guilty in September 2020 to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Gravette, who agreed that he was a career offender based upon his criminal record, had recently been released from serving a state sentence for drug distribution prior to committing these offenses. 

According to the government’s evidence, on June 24, 2018, the Lynchburg Police Department responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle at a local restaurant. When officers arrived, the driver eluded law enforcement by driving down an embankment and fleeing on foot. Inside the vehicle, police recovered approximately 255 grams of meth, 132 grams of cocaine, and 304 grams of marijuana. On the ground outside the driver’s door they discovered a Smith & Wesson 9mm firearm. Subsequent investigation revealed that Gravette was in fact the driver of the vehicle, possessed the weapon, and in just under a year, had been involved in the trafficking of 9 kilograms of methamphetamine. 

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Lynchburg Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Coleman Adams prosecuted the case for the United States.  

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