NEW BERN, N.C. - A Fayetteville man was sentenced today to 115 months in prison and three years of supervised release for unlawfully possessing a firearm. On Jan. 19, 2021, Shawn Antonio McNeill, 34, pled guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
On Oct. 24, 2018, while on patrol, an officer with the Fayetteville Police Department observed a Red Nissan Altima sedan pass him with a dark window tint and smelled an odor of marijuana as the car passed him. The officer turned around, and he observed the vehicle back into the driveway of a residence located on 7008 Radnor Street in Fayetteville and observed McNeill exiting the driver’s side. McNeill then proceeded to move towards the residence. Another officer on the scene shined his flashlight through the window and observed a firearm in plain view on the driver’s side floorboard. Officers subsequently towed and executed a search warrant on the vehicle and recovered a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun, a quantity of marijuana, a quantity of crack cocaine, a digital scale, and plastic baggies. Prior to this encounter, McNeill had been convicted of numerous felony offenses, including multiple prior convictions of firearm by felon.
G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Fayetteville Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Rhoades prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-CR-00104-FL.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
