Benton Man Sentenced To 30 Months In Prison For Possession Of Illegal Weapon

LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today that Justin Stegall, 30, of Benton, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment for being in possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle. United States District Court Judge Billy Roy Wilson, who presided over a two-day trial of Stegall, announced the sentence on Thursday.

A jury found Stegall guilty on February 17, 2016. As presented during trial, on September 10, 2013, Stegall was discovered to have a loaded, unregistered short-barreled rifle in his vehicle, which was located in a shopping center in Benton. Benton Police Department officers had responded to the scene to locate the vehicle after dispatch received a call from a driver who reported that a man had flashed a gun at him in a road rage incident. At sentencing, the victim of the road rage incident testified, and the Court found that Stegall did in fact threaten the other driver.

A vehicle matching the description given by the victim was seen driving into the shopping center. An employee of one of the stores informed the responding officers that she noticed the vehicle because it zoomed through a shopping center parking lot crowded with children and families. This employee then directed police to a neighboring restaurant where they located Stegall, the driver of the vehicle. After Stegall’s arrest officers found the loaded, unregistered short-barreled rifle, along with seven other firearms in his vehicle.

Stegall was also sentenced to serve the maximum three years supervised release upon the completion of his prison term.

The case was investigated by the Benton Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Walker and Erin O’Leary.