North Carolina man sentenced to nearly six years in prison for firearm charge, supervised release violation

Published 8:22 am Saturday, November 13, 2021

A Rocky Mount man was sentenced on November 3, 2021 to 48 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, to be served consecutive to a term of 23 months for violating supervised release on his prior federal conviction for the same offense, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina. Tyree Leron Stewart, 29, pleaded guilty to the charge on August 8, 2021.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on September 16, 2020, officers with the Rocky Mount Police Department responded to a shot-spotter alert in the area of Henna Street in Rocky Mount. There, officers observed Stewart standing beside a vehicle parked in the driveway of his residence, according to the release.

“When officers approached to ask Stewart if he had observed anything, Stewart began acting nervous and positioned his body away from the officers as if he were attempting to conceal something. Officers asked Stewart to show his hands, but Stewart did not raise his right hand,” stated the release. “When Stewart ultimately raised his right hand, officers heard a loud thud on the ground. Officers observed a sawed-off shotgun on the ground and ordered Stewart to step away.

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“Before officers could detain Stewart, he fled on foot throughout the area before ultimately returning to his house. Stewart then exited the residence and surrendered to police,” the release continued. “Officers secured a search warrant for Stewart’s residence and recovered twenty-two 12-gauge shotgun shells. The firearm was identified as a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun with a 13-inch barrel. At the time, Stewart had accrued three prior felony convictions for the same offense, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and was serving an active term of federal supervised release.”

G. Norman Acker III, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Rocky Mount Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh prosecuted.

On August 18, 2021, U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced Stewart to a term of 23 months imprisonment for violating his federal supervised release.

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