Convicted Felon Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Federal Prison for Firearms Possession
HOT SPRINGS – A Hot Springs man was sentenced yesterday to 92 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Hot Springs.
According to court documents, on September 4, 2020, a Hot Springs Police Officer observed a sports bike traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic in Hot Springs, Arkansas. When Officer’s attempted to stop the sports bike, the driver, who was later identified as, Derek Christopher Lowrey, age 35, fled via the sports bike and then on foot. Lowrey was eventually arrested and, in a search incident to his arrest, law enforcement officers located a .380 caliber pistol in his front right pants pocket.
At the time that Lowrey possessed the firearm, he was an absconder from parole and had several prior felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing any firearms.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.
The Hot Springs Police Department and the ATF investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as 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. The Department of Justice 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.
###
