RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court yesterday United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced RAMONE HAISON ETHRIDGE, 31, to 120 months imprisonment.

On June 24, 2010, a Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment.  On July 13, 2011, a jury convicted ETHRIDGE of possessing stolen firearms.

According to the Indictment, on January 28, 2010, ETHRIDGE, along with co-defendant Jerry Donnell Thompson, were found in possession of  a Panther Arms Model A-15 .223 caliber rifle and a Remington model 870 Pump shotgun.  According to the investigation, on January 28, 2010, law enforcement received a 9-1-1 call regarding a break-in of a residence in Cumberland County, North Carolina.  The caller gave a description of the vehicle that had backed into the driveway of the residence and stated that two men had gotten out of the vehicle; pried open the door to the residence; and had taken a television, a game station, and two firearms, belonging to an active duty soldier. 

Shortly thereafter, law enforcement located the vehicle and attempted to initate a traffic stop, but the driver fled.  The vehicle eventually wrecked and the occupants, who were later identified as ETHRIDGE and Thompson, fled on foot.  Both defendants were apprehended after a short foot chase.  Law enforcement located the stolen items in the vehicle, which were also determined to have been stolen.

Thompson was also charged in the Indictment, pled guilty, and on October 26, 2011, was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release. 

This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette prosecuted the case.

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Top