Leland man arrested in connection to 2022 shooting pleads guilty to gun, drug charges

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The United States Department of Justice announced on Tuesday, Sept. 12, that 29-year-old Charles Gilbert Green has pleaded guilty to two drug charges and one gun charge.

In April of 2022, Green was arrested by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office in connection to a shooting that occurred on the 600 block of Red Cross Street in Wilmington.

One person taken to hospital after shooting in Wilmington

At the time, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflicting serious injury.

On Sept. 12, 2023, Green pleaded guilty to:

• Two counts of distribution of cocaine base (crack)
• Possession of ammunition by a convicted felon

In 2021, law enforcement conducted two controlled purchases of crack from Green following information received by the Brunswick County Vice and Narcotics Unit concerning the distribution of narcotics in the Leland area.

“On April 2, 2022, at approximately 1:30 p.m., officers with the Wilmington Police Department were dispatched to the area of 6th Street and Red Cross Street after receiving a ShotSpotter alert and multiple 911 calls about shots fired,” the DOJ release states. “Upon arrival, officers located one person suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and he was immediately transported to the hospital where he received treatment and recovered from his injuries.

“During their investigation, officers located six fired shell casings in front of the John H. Shaw’s Son Funeral Home on Red Cross Street, where people were gathered for a funeral. Five fired shell casings were also found on the southeast corner of Red Cross and North 6th Street. Officers were able to locate security camera footage which showed Green firing multiple shots from the southeast corner of Red Cross Street towards a group of individuals standing near the funeral home where the shell casings were found. Green then got into a white Ford Flex and fled the scene. Based on their review of the video footage, officers determined the shell casings found in front of the funeral home were fired in self-defense.”

Green’s prior felony convictions include common law robbery in 2018 and possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana in 2014.

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