-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice

The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today, HYKEEM HENDERSON, 27, of Henderson, North Carolina, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III to 42 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.

HENDERSON was named in a one-count Indictment on December 20, 2017. On May 29, 2018, HENDERSON pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm.

On June 1, 2017, officers with the Henderson Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle due to expired registration. Officers were told by one occupant that he had smoked marijuana prior to the stop. During the search of the vehicle, officers located a firearm along with a holster under the passenger seat. HENDERSON claimed ownership of the firearm. During further investigation, HENDERSON was found to be a convicted felon.

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. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of the United States Attorney’s Office. 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.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Henderson Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette handled the prosecution of this case for the government.

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