Terry Monk Sentenced for Gun Possession

TYLER, Texas – A 44-year-old Wills Point resident has been locked behind bars for a staggering 71 months after being convicted of federal firearms violations. Terry Dewayne Monk pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis today.

The crime spree began on March 14, 2014, when Monk was pulled over on a rural Van Zandt County road for an outstanding warrant. What followed would unravel a dangerous trail of gun ownership and criminal history. Officers discovered the car Monk was driving didn’t belong to him but to a local resident who had seen Monk with a sawed-off shotgun at her home. A search of the residence turned up the firearm, its serial number obliterated.

Monk’s past caught up with him when further investigation revealed he was a convicted felon for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 1990 in Tarrant County. Federal law explicitly bans felons from owning or possessing firearms, yet Monk had managed to evade this prohibition until his day of reckoning.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative to reduce gun and gang violence in the Eastern District of Texas. The program involves partnerships between community members, organizations, and law enforcement agencies at all levels.

The investigation was led by the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble prosecuted the case with unwavering dedication to justice.