Peninsula Man Sentenced To Seven Years On Drug, Gun Charges

REDWOOD CITY, CA -- A Redwood City man was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for distributing methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of ammunition, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson, working with the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Rayfield Roundtree, accepted a guilty plea by Craig William Nitsche, 35, to the charges on Oct. 9.

According to his plea agreement, Nitsche admitted that on July 30, 2018, he was driving a beige pickup truck without license plates in Redwood City. After he stopped at a gas station, officers approached the car when Nitsche pulled out and raised a black handgun and dropped it to the ground. From there, officers took him into custody.

Nitsche admitted that he knew he had one round chambered in the handgun and 12 additional rounds in the magazine, in addition to 27.1 grams of methamphetamine in the center console of his pickup truck. Nitsche also admitted he possessed the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it by selling it to other people.

A federal grand jury indicted Nitsche last August on three counts of drug and firearm charges that he pleaded guilty to.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg ordered Nitsche to serve a three-year term of supervised release that will begin at the conclusion of his prison term.