WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Connecticut man was sentenced to 102 months in prison for possessing a firearm despite being a previously convicted felon. Marquis Lamar McDuffie entered his guilty plea on May 5, 2021.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, officers with the Greenville Police Department attempted to conduct a lawful traffic stop on a vehicle operated by McDuffie on May 3, 2020. McDuffie attempted to flee before exiting his vehicle, throwing a loaded handgun over a fence and into the parking lot area of a nearby motel. The firearm landed by two children who were playing outside but was quickly secured by police officers. A subsequent search of McDuffie’s vehicle yielded quantities of marijuana, MDMA, and crack cocaine. McDuffie was on federal supervised release from Connecticut for a prior firearm conviction.
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 Greenville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh prosecuted the case.
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. 4:20-CR-99-M.