GLOUCESTER, Va. — Nathan Mattocks was sentenced to 35 years in prison Tuesday for drug, firearm, witness tampering and retaliation, and obstruction of justice convictions stemming from an event in August of 2020.
According to court documents, 39-year-old Mattocks was arrested after the Gloucester Country Sheriff's Office received an emergency call from someone reporting that he was being shot at by a person following in another vehicle on a main road.
According to United State Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber, following an investigation officers identified a vehicle matching the description. Mattocks was an occupant in that vehicle, according to Aber.
Officers arrested Mattocks and discovered "Roxacet 30" pills containing fentanyl and a semi-automatic pistol connected to Mattocks, according to Aber.
After Mattocks was arrested and detained pending the trial, Aber says he became aware of potential witnesses in his case that had provided information to officers about the shooting and the defendant's prior drug dealing.
Aber says Mattocks approached a known violent gang member, while both were incarcerated, and asked the gang member to find others who could "get rid of" these witnesses by killing them or otherwise making sure they would not appear in court.
Mattocks offered to pay the gang member or provide them with a large amount of drugs, then provided a note to them with the names and information about the potential witnesses, including one that did testify at his July 2022 trial, according to Aber.
Further investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), Gloucester County Sheriff's Office, and other local law enforcement partners revealed Mattocks' long history of dealing heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine, among other "dangerous controlled substances" within the Middle Peninsula.
