Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Bobby Joe Hampton, age 28 of Texarkana, was found guilty of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm following a two day jury trial in Texarkana. The Honorable Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the trial in the United States District Court in Texarkana. Hampton was previously indicted on the charge by a federal grand jury on March 19, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “This defendant, a convicted felon, was in possession of a firearm and was physically assaulting another person when he was taken into custody. Every day, the lives of our police officers and ordinary citizens are jeopardized by this dangerous criminal activity. We will continue to investigate and prosecute these cases to hopefully prevent violence in Southern Arkansas and throughout the Western District of Arkansas.”
According to evidence presented at trial, on February 3, 2014, the Texarkana Police Department received a 9-1-1 call regarding a disturbance at a residence in Texarkana, Arkansas. As the officer responded to the address and identified himself, he witnessed the defendant, Bobby Hampton, physically assaulting a female victim. As the officer was attempting to take Hampton into custody, he heard two females yelling that Hampton had a gun in his jacket pocket. Once the officer had placed him into custody, he located a Rossi .38 caliber revolver bearing serial number TK72314 in the pocket of the jacket. Hampton later admitted to possessing the firearm which was found to have been manufactured outside the state of Arkansas and had previously traveled in interstate commerce; he is prohibited from possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony offense carrying a term of imprisonment of more than one year.
The defendant will be sentenced at a later date, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000 fine, or both. If the defendant has three or more felony convictions for a violent and/or serious drug offense, then the defendant faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life imprisonment, not more than $250,000 fine, or both. The sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violations. The sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum for each count in this case, and in most cases will be less than the maximum.
This case was investigated by the Texarkana, Arkansas Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney’s David Harris and Kim Davis prosecuted the case for the United States.
