Rocky Mount Man Sentenced to 71 Months for Second Federal Firearm Conviction

WILMINGTON, N.C. – 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.  On August 8, 2021, Tyree Leron Stewart, 29, pled guilty to the charge.

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, Rocky Mount, North Carolina. There, officers observed Stewart standing beside a vehicle parked in the driveway of his residence. 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. 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. 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. 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 the case.

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.

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 Nos. 5:21-CR-194-M and 5:18-CR-168-FL.