Convicted Felon Sentenced to Five Years and a Month in Prison

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a convicted felon for illegal possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

U.S. District Court Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced Dantrell Dujuan Purifoy, 30, of Warrior, to 61 months in prison.  Purifoy pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in January.

According to the plea agreement, on July 27, 2022, a Warrior police officer received a license plate reader report on a stolen vehicle. The officer saw Purifoy pull into a residence in Warrior. The officer recognized Purifoy from prior interactions with law enforcement. The officer exited the vehicle and held Purifoy at gunpoint. Purifoy backed his vehicle up, accelerated forward, and struck the officer’s driver’s side door, causing injury to the officer’s foot. Purifoy fled in the stolen vehicle and the officer pursued him. The pursuit ended when Purifoy lost control of the vehicle and ran off a cliff. Purifoy was able to escape the vehicle and fled on foot. The Warrior Police Department canine unit was deployed, and Purifoy was apprehended by the officers. Officers recovered a Taurus 9mm pistol from the vehicle.

Purifoy was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior felony convictions. Purifoy was convicted on November 8, 2017, in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County, Alabama, of the offense of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance; convicted on February 26, 2018, in the District Court of Jefferson County, Alabama, of the offense of Certain Persons Forbidden to Possess Pistol; convicted on March 18, 2019, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama, of the offense of Receiving Stolen Property, First Degree; and convicted on August 5, 2019, in the Circuit Court of Blount County, Alabama, of the offenses of Burglary, Third Degree, and Theft of Property, Second Degree.

ATF investigated the case, along with the Warrior Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Royster is prosecuted the case.