Five Time Wilmington Felon Receives 63 Months for Gun Offense

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. On February 7, 2022, Terry Earl Hooper, Jr., age 35, pled guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on October 4, 2021, officers with the Wilmington Police Department stopped a vehicle driven by Terry Earl Hooper for a window tint violation. In a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers located five oxycodone hydrochloride pills, ten alprazolam pills, and a semi-automatic firearm with a laser attachment.

Mr. 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 and 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 (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-cr-00142-FL.

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