Department of Justice

LITTLE ROCK—A West Memphis man has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky sentenced Deterrius Wilson, 36, Thursday afternoon in Little Rock. In addition to the ten-year sentence of imprisonment, which is the maximum allowed by law for this crime, Judge Rudofsky sentenced Wilson to three years of supervised release.

In March of 2018, West Memphis police officers initiated a traffic stop of a blue Ford Escape SUV. The vehicle refused to stop and instead sped up, resulting in a vehicle pursuit. During the chase, officers observed Deterrius Wilson turn toward them and point a handgun directly at them. After several minutes, the vehicle lost control and ran off the road.

Wilson exited the vehicle and fled on foot through an alley, wearing camouflage body armor and carrying a handgun in his right hand. Officers told Wilson to drop the gun, and he did, but he continued to flee while removing his body armor. When officers caught up to Wilson, they found two magazines fully loaded with 9mm ammunition. Officers also recovered his body armor, which contained 14 more rounds of 9mm ammunition. Wilson admitted ownership of the vest.

In the vehicle, officers found a Taurus .45 caliber handgun, and they also recovered the Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun Wilson had dropped during the pursuit. Both firearms were loaded, and the investigation revealed the 9mm handgun had been reported stolen. Wilson’s sentence was based on the offense as well as his criminal history, which included prior convictions for fleeing as well as numerous convictions for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and multiple firearms convictions.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the West Memphis Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie Peters.

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