Wilmington man sentenced for making meth, heroin

Chris Natale (Photo: District Attorney’s Office)

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – A Wilmington man pleaded guilty to two counts of Manufacturing Methamphetamine, Possession of a Methamphetamine Precursor, and Sale of Heroin in New Hanover Court earlier this week.

Christopher Natale, 34, of Wilmington, was sentenced to 58-82 months in prison.

On July 14, detectives were investigating a home believed to be involved in the manufacturing of methamphetamine at 5048 Ferndale Road in Wilmington.

As detectives searched the home, Natale arrived in his truck. He told the detectives that he was at the property to give a price quote for cutting down a tree.

A drug-detecting dog was walked around the truck and alerted its handlers to the presence of narcotics.

Police then searched the truck, where they found chemicals used to make meth.

Two months earlier, detectives had found various chemicals and ingredients, including pseudoephedrine and lithium, in Natale’s truck. They also found a converted Gatorade bottle used to make meth.

While those charges were pending, Natale sold heroin to a confidential informant on October 28, 2015. This incident was investigated by the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.

“Each time a truck transports a meth lab it’s a mobile missile transporting hazardous waste,” said Assistant District Attorney Timothy Severo. “Without the coordinated efforts of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Pender County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina SBI Clan Lab agents, this dangerous operation would have continued to poison our community.”