DARVIS DEAN ARNETT, JR., Possession of Firearms, Oklahoma 2022

A disturbing trend of gunfire in Oklahoma City has led to a major conviction in federal court. On Monday, January 30, 2023, U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot sentenced DARVIS DEAN ARNETT, JR., 25, of Oklahoma City, to serve a total of 216 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Arnett was found guilty of being a prior convicted felon in illegal possession of firearms. On December 14, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment against Arnett charging him with being a prior convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm. On February 15, 2022, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Arnett with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On April 8, 2022, Arnett pleaded guilty to the three-count superseding indictment.

Public records reflect that on March 14, 2021, the Oklahoma City Police Department (OCPD) responded to a shots-fired call at a Hampton Inn. During a verbal altercation between Arnett, his two female accomplices, and unknown individuals, Arnett retrieved a handgun from a vehicle, fired one round into the air and two more rounds toward the male with whom he was fighting. Arnett was arrested during a traffic stop a short while later along with his two female accomplices. The firearm was discovered in the trunk of the vehicle.

Additionally, on May 3, 2021, the Edmond Police Department responded to a shots-fired call in a residential neighborhood. Arnett was seen on surveillance video firing more than 30 rounds of ammunition from a firearm fitted with a high-capacity drum magazine. Pursuant to a search warrant, police located the gun in a clothes hamper in Arnett’s parent’s bedroom.

Lastly, on November 11, 2021, Arnett’s ex-girlfriend came home and discovered her front door had been kicked in. Soon after she called 911 to report the burglary, Arnett showed up and tried to force his way into her apartment. She and one of her female friends were able to hold the door shut and she again called 911. When he could not get into the apartment, Arnett went to the parking lot where he fired the gun three times into the air. OCPD officers responding to this call heard three gunshots from the area of the apartment complex. Arnett was later arrested at his parent’s home in Edmond. Prior to Arnett’s arrest, his father gave police the firearm Arnett had hidden in the attic.

Federal law prohibits prior convicted felons from possessing firearms or ammunition. Prior to his arrest, Arnett had been convicted of at least three felonies out of Oklahoma County, including instances of robbery with a firearm and burglary in the first degree in CF-2015-2755, CF-2015-5969, and CF-2015-8233.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdok/pr/shots-fired-calls-result-oklahoma-city-man-sentenced-serve-18-years-federal-prison