Convicted Felon Is Sentenced To Prison For Illegal Possession of A Firearm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Castillo Hopkins, 39, of Matthews, N.C. was sentenced today to 42 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a felon, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on June 10, 2022, CMPD officers received a call for service for an armed individual at a gas station in the area. When officers arrived on the scene, they observed the individual, later identified as Hopkins, sitting on the hood of his vehicle. As the officers approached Hopkins, the defendant got off the hood of the car and kneeled by the front driver’s side wheel. The officers heard a metallic object hit the ground. Hopkins was arrested and the officers retrieved a semi-automatic pistol from underneath the vehicle. According to court documents, on July 23, 2022, a shooting occurred at The Gold Club in Charlotte. During the investigation, law enforcement identified Hopkins as the possible shooter in that incident. On July 23, 2022, law enforcement located Hopkins sitting in a vehicle at the same gas station he had been arrested previously. Law enforcement ordered Hopkins to step out of the vehicle and proceeded to search the car’s interior, where they located a semi-automatic pistol that had been reported stolen. Hopkins has multiple prior convictions, including strong arm robbery, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and carrying a concealed weapon, and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

On January 10, 2024, Hopkins pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Sielaff of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.