-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 ODELL LAMECHE OVERBY, 46, of Henderson, North Carolina, was sentenced by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan to 120 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.

OVERBY was named in an Indictment on March 15, 2018, charging him with Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. On May 16, 2018, OVERBY pled guilty to the charge.

On December 18, 2017, members of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home invasion in Oxford. Upon arriving at the residence, deputies observed a vehicle backed up to the residence with the engine running, the trunk open, and several items in the trunk of the vehicle. Deputies saw and secured OVERBY inside the house. Deputies observed an AR-15 assault rifle on the floor a short distance away from OVERBY. OVERBY was placed under arrest. Deputies determined that the firearm was loaded and that OVERBY had been taking items out of the home after breaking into it.

There was one person in the home that was able to call for help from a bedroom when OVERBY made entry into the house. OVERBY pointed the rifle at the person and tied them up.

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.

In support of PSN, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has implemented the 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.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Granville County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette handled the prosecution of this case for the government.

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