Miami Gardens Trio Jailed For AR-15 Stash

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – A trio of Miami Gardens men are off the streets and facing serious time after being sentenced for possessing firearms despite prior felony convictions. The case, stemming from a 2013 investigation into the notorious 170 Boys gang, highlights the ongoing battle to keep weapons out of the hands of repeat offenders.

Deondre Bain, 23, Lamar Eady, Jr., 23, and Lloyd Hulse, Jr., 22, all of Miami Gardens, received their sentences from U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch. Eady, designated an armed career criminal, received the harshest penalty: 188 months (15 years, 8 months) in prison. Bain was sentenced to 111 months, and Hulse to 110 months. All three were previously convicted felons.

The bust unfolded in the early morning hours of June 30, 2013, as federal and state law enforcement were patrolling the Honey Hill area. Officers observed Hulse entering a parked vehicle clutching a stolen AR-15 assault rifle, loaded with forty rounds of .223 caliber ammunition. A search of the car revealed two additional stolen firearms, fully loaded and linked to Bain and Eady, who were already inside.

A federal grand jury indicted the three men on July 26, 2013, charging them with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Hulse quickly pleaded guilty, while Bain and Eady took the case to trial. Evidence presented revealed a pattern of criminal behavior for all three defendants, with extensive prior felony convictions coloring their histories. The Armed Career Criminal Act played a significant role in Eady’s lengthy sentence, triggering a minimum fifteen-year penalty due to his repeat offender status.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer emphasized the collaborative effort behind the takedown, crediting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Miami Gardens Police Department (MGPD). The case is a direct result of the Violence Reduction Partnership, a program aimed at dismantling violent criminal networks while also providing resources for at-risk youth and those re-entering society after incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Coats and Andy Camacho prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has made press releases and court documents available on their website at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov. This case serves as a stark reminder that possessing firearms while being a convicted felon carries severe consequences, and federal agencies are actively working to crack down on such offenses in South Florida.