NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Hampton man was sentenced today to nearly four years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“A convicted felon in possession of a firearm poses a serious risk to the safety of our community," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Slaughter has an extensive criminal record that includes assault and battery on a family member and assault on a law enforcement officer. In this case, he attempted to evade police and possessed a loaded handgun that he threw into a public parking lot. We will continue to prosecute these cases at every opportunity and remove violent felons like Slaughter from our communities."
According to court documents, on March 16, 2018, Newport News Police Department responded to the Happy Shopper store on Marshall Avenue in reference to two males in possession of firearms. Officers made contact with the two suspects, Carl A. Slaughter, 24, and another male. One officer observed a firearm magazine sticking out of Slaughter’s waistband and asked if Slaughter had a concealed carry permit. Slaughter immediately ran from the store through a parking lot, and officers pursued Slaughter on foot. Officers observed Slaughter throw a firearm during the chase. Slaughter was apprehended and the firearm, a Taurus 9 mm with an extended capacity magazine containing 28 rounds with one round chambered, was recovered.
Slaughter had previously been convicted of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer and was on supervised probation at the time of this offense. His assault and battery on a law enforcement officer conviction resulted from a March 6, 2017 traffic stop in Newport News. Slaughter resisted law enforcement during the interaction, and one officer was hospitalized with a major knee injury and another officer sustained knee and elbow abrasions. Slaughter has also previously been convicted of assault and battery on a family member, violation of a protective order, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, violation of probation, receiving stolen goods, and failure to appear.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan M. Cowles prosecuted the 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:18-cr-84.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
