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Former Gates Co. Sheriff’s Office sergeant sentenced after stealing firearms, drugs

Posted at 12:31 PM, Aug 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-21 11:48:07-04

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former Gates Co. Sheriff’s Office sergeant has been sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after stealing firearms and drugs while on the job.

On February 12, Brandon Scott Hawks, 33, of North Carolina, plead guilty to two counts of possession of a stolen firearm.

An investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation revealed that between roughly 2014 and 2017, Hawks stole firearms and drugs from traffic stops that he made while employed as a Sergeant with the Gates County Sheriff’s Office.

Additionally, he stole or mishandled various types and amounts of illegal drugs including heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, cocaine base (crack), cocaine, methamphetamine, buprenorphine, alprazolam, morphine, cathinone, and marijuana.

Hawks had been employed as a deputy with the sheriff’s office since 2006 and was a sergeant when he was arrested on embezzlement charges after a corruption investigation by the North Carolina State Department of Investigation.

The indictment accuses Hawks of possessing a stolen Glock 26 handgun from July 23-December 6, 2017. Court records say that he unlawfully seized the gun during a traffic stop on July 23, 2017 and that it was never submitted as evidence to the sheriff’s office. The gun was found at his home on December 6, 2017.

The second count of the indictment also charges Hawks with possessing a stolen firearm from May 27, 2014 until December 6, 2017.

The third count charges that on December 6, 2017, Hawks possessed with the intent to distribute several controlled substances that were considered property of the Gates County Sheriff’s Office and were seized during criminal investigations.

Hawks was fired from the sheriff’s office on December 6, 2017.