Wilmington Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Gun Offense

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison, and 3 years of supervised release for possessing a firearm while being a prohibited person and in connection with another felony offense.  On September 30, 2020, Herbert Anthony Sloan pled guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, late on July 13, 2019, Sloan, 34, entered a home in Wilmington with a firearm.  Sloan was purportedly looking for a female who was not home.  Sloan remained at the residence with the female’s mother, however, and displayed a firearm while in the mother’s bedroom.  The mother reported being scared, feeling threatened and believed she was unable to leave.  The daughter learned of the situation and called 911.  Responding officers found Sloan on the sidewalk just outside the home and recovered a loaded .38 caliber pistol from Sloan’s waistband.  Sloan later tried to obstruct the investigation by pressuring the mother and her daughter to drop the charges.

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 Wilmington office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Wilmington Police Department (WPD) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Stephany  prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina implements the PSN Program through its Take Back North Carolina Initiative.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

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 No. 7:19-cr-00150-D.