A Wilmington man, Terry Earl Hooper, Jr., 35, has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. On February 7, 2022, Hooper pled guilty to the charge.
The conviction stems from an incident on October 4, 2021, when officers with the Wilmington Police Department stopped a vehicle driven by Hooper for a window tint violation. During the subsequent search of the vehicle, officers located five oxycodone hydrochloride pills, ten alprazolam pills, and a semi-automatic firearm with a laser attachment.
Hooper has multiple prior felony convictions, including possession of a gun on educational property, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, selling or delivering a schedule I controlled substance, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Wilmington Police Department’s Gun Crime Task Force, and the Wilmington Police Department and New Hanover County Sheriff Office Mobile Field Force Unit investigated the case.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William Van Trigt prosecuted the case. Van Trigt is a prosecutor with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal violent crimes and other criminal matters. This has been made possible by a grant funded by New Hanover County.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Hooper is currently serving his sentence.
Related Federal Cases
- Terry Sherwood Slade, Hobbs Act Robbery, North Carolina 2024 · Arkansas
- Lindsey Hayes, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, North Carolina 2024 · North Carolina
- Lindsey L. Hayes, Possession of Ammunition as a Convicted Felon, North Carolina 2023 · North Carolina
- Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, ISIL Support Plot, North Carolina, 2022 · Wisconsin
- Alex Arnez Jones, Armed Robbery Spree, North Carolina 2015 · Georgia
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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