McCurtain County Resident Sentenced For Illegally Possessing A Firearm

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Kendall James Hopper, age 62, of Smithville, Oklahoma, was sentenced to time served for one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police, and the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office.

On June 9, 2025, Hopper pleaded guilty to the charge.  According to investigators, on January 2, 2024, law enforcement dispatched to a Smithville, Oklahoma residence discovered Hopper in possession of one lever-action .30-.30 caliber rifle.  At the time of the incident, Hopper had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Soverly represented the United States.