Washington, N.C. Man Sentenced for Possession of a Firearm And Ammunition by a Felon

NEW BERN – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, John Stuart Bruce, announced that on September 18, 2017 in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced FREDDIE MONTRELL ANTHONY, 25, of Washington, N.C., to 70 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.

ANTHONY was named in an indictment filed on March 15, 2017.  On May 17, 2017, he pled guilty to one count of Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Felon.

On June 28, 2016, officers assigned to the Gun Violence Reduction Unit with the Greenville Police Department were on patrol when they witnessed a group of individuals loitering outside the Pitt Street Mini-Mart, including ANTHONY.  As the officers pulled into the store parking lot, ANTHONY entered the store.  The officers followed ANTHONY and asked him why he entered the store.  ANTHONY repeated their questions and appeared nervous.  Officers learned that ANTHONY had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear. During a subsequent pat down, ANTHONY advised that he had bullets in his pocket. The officer located seven .380 caliber rounds in the defendant’s left front pocket.  ANTHONY stated that he had the .380 caliber rounds for two days and that he owned a gun, but it was at home where it was going to stay.  ANTHONY denied having a firearm in his possession.  Another officer searched the area where ANTHONY was seen when they first entered the store, and found a .380 caliber firearm wrapped in a grey sweatshirt.  The firearm was loaded with seven additional .380 caliber rounds.

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.

The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Greenville Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Peggah Wilson prosecuted the case for the government.