
On January 8, 2025, a New Orleans man, Gernell Hankton, aged 34, was handed a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of illegal firearm possession and providing false information during a firearm purchase. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office release, U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance prescribed to Hankton a combined sentence of 135 months of incarceration. This sentence included a concurrent term for two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and an additional consecutive term of 15 months for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
The incident that led to Hankton's arrest involved a hit and run accident in 2019, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Pursuing his truck, the victim found themselves under fire when Hankton, having exited his truck, discharged his weapon approximately seven times. In a curious twist of fate, despite the gunfire, no injuries were reported from the incident. Eventually, the New Orleans Police Department arrested Hankton and seized a Glock Model 23 .40 caliber pistol from his truck, which was matched to the casings at the shooting scene.
The deceitful attempt to purchase a firearm occurred shortly after, involving Hankton's girlfriend, who initially bought a Century Arms pistol and later couldn't pick it up. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Hankton himself later tried to retrieve the weapon by submitting a falsified ATF 4473 form in his girlfriend's name. His girlfriend, being contacted by a federal firearms licensee employee, confessed to not being the actual purchaser, unraveling Hankton's ploy. Due to his status as a convicted felon, Hankton was barred from legally possessing or purchasing firearms.
Following his incarceration, Hankton will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years, as well as being required to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $300, the release from the U.S. Attorney's Office details. His case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence. The investigation involved the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives along with the New Orleans Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Reed of the Public Integrity Unit.