Man sentenced for illegal firearm possession and making online threats

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition and sending threatening messages to a former girlfriend through Facebook.

According to court documents, on May 28, 2019, Robert Edgar English, aka “H.B.,” “Hot Boy,” and “Head Buster,” 40, accompanied another person to a firearms retailer in Chesapeake, Virginia, and provided money for the straw purchase of a semi-automatic firearm. On June 16, 2019, during a traffic stop in Portsmouth, Virginia, law enforcement seized the firearm from the vehicle’s trunk, as well as an attached drum magazine with 26 rounds of ammunition and a 60-round capacity.

In 2005, English was convicted in Kings County, New York, of attempted criminal possession of a weapon. As a previously convicted felon, English cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.

On Sept. 7 and Sept. 8, 2021, English threatened his ex-girlfriend through messages from a Facebook account under the name “Howard Barnes.” Among other messages, English threatened that the victim “better be looking for the reaper” and that he would “black out your whole family.”

On Nov. 13, 2023, English pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and interstate threatening communication.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Stephen Jenkins, Chief of Portsmouth Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mozzi prosecuted the case. Former Assistant United States Attorney William B. Jackson also provided assistance on this case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-19.