A Richmond man has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Octavius Bentley, 37, was sentenced in a U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia.
According to court documents, on July 12, 2022, a Richmond Police officer saw Bentley driving on the wrong side of the road. He got out of the car, removed a firearm from his waistband, and placed it on the driver’s seat before hopping the fence. The officer recovered the loaded gun from the car and found part of Bentley’s ankle monitoring equipment in the passenger’s seat.
Bentley had been released from prison six months prior, after serving 18 years for a violent rape. He was placed on location monitoring as a condition of his state probation. The officer also found over 6 ounces of marijuana, baggies, a digital scale, a drug ledger, and a cell phone in the trunk of the car.
Officers were unable to locate Bentley on July 12, but within days, he fled to Vermont. He was arrested in August on a federal warrant for flight to avoid prosecution.
U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber, along with other law enforcement officials, announced the sentencing after the conviction by U.S. District Judge Hannah M. Lauck. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Wright and Kenneth Simon prosecuted the case.
Bentley is currently serving his 5-year prison sentence for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The case is still ongoing, and related court documents can be found on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s website or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-157.
The Richmond Police Department, ATF, and U.S. Marshals Service all contributed to the investigation and prosecution of Bentley.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Violent Crime|Weapons|Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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