Wilmington Man Sentenced in Firearm Case
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 12, 2014 |
ELIZABETH CITY, NC—United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced IRVING BENNERMAN, 47, of Wilmington, to 210 months’ imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release.
BENNERMAN was named in an indictment filed on August 20, 2013 charging him with possession of a firearm by a felon. On November 14, 2013, BENNERMAN pled guilty to that charge.
According to the investigation, on May 21, 2013 law enforcement officers received information that BENNERMAN was attempting to sell an assault rifle out of the trunk of a car in the Jervay Housing Community in Wilmington. Law enforcement responded to the area and found BENNERMAN with two other individuals near a car. After consent was given to search the car by the driver, law enforcement found a Bushmaster model XM15-E2S .223-5.56mm semi-automatic rifle, 10 large capacity magazines capable of holding 30 rounds each, and more than 400 rounds of ammunition in the trunk of the car. The others with BENNERMAN told law enforcement they had driven BENNERMAN to Jacksonville where BENNERMAN had gone into a house and came out with the firearm. The three drove back to Wilmington, and BENNERMAN was attempting to sell the firearm to people on the street. The firearm was stolen from a residence in Jacksonville. The owner of the firearm identified BENNERMAN as a friend of his who had knowledge of the firearm. BENNERMAN was sentenced as an armed career criminal having three previous convictions for crimes of violence.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Wilmington Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Special Assistant United States Attorney Charity Wilson served as prosecutor for the government. Ms. Wilson is a prosecutor with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Ben David has assigned her to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal Project Safe Neighborhood cases and other violent crime cases.