Grand Rapids Man, Carl Luther Thompson II, Sentenced To More Than Eight Years In Prison For Felony Gun And Drug Possession

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — Carl Luther Thompson II was sentenced to eight years and two months’ federal incarceration after his conviction on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possessing heroin, cocaine base, and marijuana with intent to distribute. U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff pronounced the sentence. A jury found Thompson guilty of all three counts on April 10, 2015.

          Thompson was convicted after possessing one of two firearms left on a picnic table in Dickinson Buffer Park on Grand Rapids’s southeast side on June 11, 2013. The next day, Thompson got into an altercation with a woman who requested that members of the Madison Avenue street gang move away from her house on Brown Street near Madison Avenue in Grand Rapids. Thompson threatened the woman by brandishing a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and stating, "We own Brown Street." The State was unable to prosecute the felonious assault when the victim recanted at a preliminary hearing out of fear of retaliation. More than a year later, a federal grand jury returned an indictment of Thompson for being a felon in possession of firearms. During his arrest on the federal gun charges, he was found to be in possession of heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana, which led the grand jury to subsequently bring the drug charges as well.

          U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles praised the cooperation of federal, state, and local investigators in prosecuting Thompson. "This conviction and sentence result from cooperation among the Grand Rapids Police Department, the Michigan State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in pursuing justice against individuals who destabilize communities through drug dealing and gun violence."

          The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Grand Rapids Police with assistance from the Michigan State Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally J. Berens and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell A. Kavalhuna.

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