Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Theft of Firearms in Mississippi
Oxford, Miss. – A Killeen, Texas man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in stealing firearms from a pawnshop in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Dominic Deshawn Turner was sentenced on Monday to 39 months imprisonment by Senior District Court Judge Neal B. Biggers for conspiracy to steal firearms from a federally licensed firearm (FFL) dealer. The sentence marks the conclusion of a two-year long investigation and prosecution of a 2019 robbery of Krosstown Trade & Pawn in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Co-defendants Corey Alonzo Brown of Killeen, Texas, Raheim Trayvon Avery of Grenada, Mississippi, and Corey Kintrell Lewis of Clarksdale, Mississippi have all been previously sentenced to prison for their roles in the robbery.
Court records show that on February 20, 2019, Krosstown Trade & Pawn in Clarksdale, Mississippi was robbed at gunpoint and the owner, who was working in the store at the time, was physically assaulted during the robbery. Five individuals stole 25 firearms and more than $49,000.00 worth of jewelry. The suspects fled the scene and ATF and the Clarksdale, Mississippi Police Department began investigating the incident.
Nine days after the Krosstown robbery, several firearms and jewelry stolen from the business were recovered by detectives from the Killeen, Texas Police Department. As a result of a combined investigation by ATF Agents and local law enforcement agencies in Texas and Mississippi, law enforcement positively identified five individuals as suspects in the robbery in Mississippi and uncovered a conspiracy to traffic firearms from Mississippi to Texas. ATF Agents in Mississippi also located and recovered additional stolen firearms in Clarksdale and Grenada, Mississippi in the possession of individuals who were prohibited from lawfully possessing firearms.
All five suspects from the robbery were identified and prosecuted. One suspect passed away prior to arrest. The remaining four suspects entered guilty pleas to federal charges and were ultimately convicted. Each of the defendants was sentenced to terms of imprisonment and required to pay restitution to the FFL dealer. Corey Lewis was sentenced to 87 months in prison, Raheim Avery was sentenced to 40 months, and Corey Brown was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison.
“Effective collaboration and coordination between ATF Agents and local law enforcement officers across multiple states was critical to the success of this investigation and prosecution,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “Not only were they able to bring justice to the victim of this crime, but they were able to recover many of the firearms stolen, preventing future violent crimes.”
“The sentence imposed today lets gun traffickers know that they will pay a price for their crimes,” said ATF New Orleans Field Division Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn. “ATF will continue to investigate firearm thefts to cut the pipeline of crime guns. This was good teamwork with our law enforcement partners and an example of ATF’s dedication to investigate individuals that feed violent gun crime.”
The following agencies participated in the investigation: ATF Waco, TX Satellite Office, ATF Austin, TX Field Office, ATF Oxford, MS Field Office, Killeen, TX Police Department, Clarksdale, MS Police Department, Grenada, MS Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Hampton and Philip Levy for the Northern District of Mississippi prosecuted the case.
