NEW HANOVER COUNTY — After pleading guilty last year, a Wilmington man and alleged gang member will serve 120 months for possession of a firearm by a felon and possession with intent to distribute ecstasy and marijuana.
A 29-year-old, Veshon Lendell Shaw, also known as “Play Maker,” was apprehended after leading law enforcement on a “high-speed chase.” It ended when in a crash into a police vehicle, according to the office of U.S. attorney Michael Easley.
Shaw has been in and out of the system for a decade; law enforcement say he is a member of the 720 Folk Nation Gang.
His prior convictions include selling a selling a schedule II controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was placed on parole for a year after his release from prison on Dec. 23, 2013.
Shaw also was found guilty of common law robbery and selling heroin in 2015. The robbery included a 26-year-old victim reporting he was trying to “purchase a bundle of heroin” but was robbed at knifepoint by two males. One was Shaw.
In 2016, Shaw was arrested in connection to a shooting of a passerby in Wilmington.
In court July 29, 2021, it was revealed a Wilmington police officer attempted to stop Shaw for a revoked license and traffic violation. After pulling into a Creekwood parking lot, Shaw sped off onto North 30th Street, in an attempt to evade police.
Shaw’s car struck a law enforcement van on Market Street, court documents indicate. Officers boxed in the car Shaw was driving thereafter and, upon exiting, he attempted to flea on foot. When authorities apprehended him, they found Shaw in possession of an ounce of ecstasy and $1,200 cash.
“He bragged that he wasn’t afraid to spend time in prison,” Easley wrote in a press release, adding a sentence would give him a new “plug,” slang for a new source in drug supply.
Law enforcement also found a stolen 9 millimeter handgun and marijuana in the car.
“Violent criminals have no place on our streets,” WPD Chief Donny Williams said in a press release. “We appreciate the partnerships we have with various agencies who helped us bring this case to a close.”
Shaw’s arrest is part of “Operation Golfer” — an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. The agency attempts to “disrupt and dismantle” high-ranking criminals and drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and more.
Previous PCD reporting on Operation Golfer:
Cape Fear Bust: 20 arrests, 50 weapons, 10,000 grams of narcotics
Gang member recently released for murder gets 7 years for meth
2 men arrested in ‘Operation Golfer’ sentenced for drug trafficking, firearm charges
Armed Wilmington drug dealer sentenced to 120 months
Wilmington felon receives 114-month sentence for firearm possession
Wilmington gang member sentenced to more than 11 years for trafficking meth
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