Raleigh Man Sentenced for Firearm Offense

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today, WOODIE LAMONT HERRING, 47, of Raleigh, was sentenced by United States District Judge James C. Dever, III for felon in possession of a firearm.  Judge Dever sentenced HERRING to 120 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

HERRING was charged in a two-count Superseding Indictment on April 19, 2018, and pleaded guilty on July 23, 2018, to felon in possession of a firearm. 

On November 20, 2017, officers of the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that HERRING was driving.  A firearm sat on the passenger’s seat.  HERRING initially reached for the gun; however, after officers told him to move away from the gun, HERRING complied. HERRING later was released on bond on state charges, and federal charges were then filed against him.

On April 20, 2018, RPD officers again conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that HERRING was driving.  During the stop, officers learned that HERRING had an active federal warrant and attempted to arrest HERRING.  HERRING fled.  Officers caught up to HERRING, who resisted arrest, fought with officers, and tried to pull a firearm out of his waistband.  HERRING ignored repeated commands to stop resisting, and eventually it took numerous officers to arrest HERRING.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Since 2017 the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and is targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Raleigh Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).