Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Chief United States District Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Jabriel Bell and Fortune Hoppins to 46 months and 57 months of prison, respectively, in a gun burglary case. The judge ordered that Bell, 25, and Hoppins, 35, face credit restrictions and pay restitution totaling $22,737. The judge also ordered that each defendant pay a $100 special assessment and undergo three years of supervised release after completing their prison term.

 

In the early morning hours of May 10, 2017, Bell, Hoppins, and Stanley Young stole approximately fifty firearms from Safford Tire and Hardware, a licensed firearms dealer in Safford, Alabama. The store’s video surveillance system captured the burglary. Law enforcement officials soon identified Bell, Hoppins, and Young as suspects and found several discarded clothing items near the store. On May 11, 2017, law enforcement officials located Bell, who admitted post-Miranda to burglarizing the store with Hoppins and Young. Bell helped officials find twenty-three firearms he left in a bag in the woods near Safford Tire. That same day, law enforcement officials found Hoppins, a convicted felon, in Marion Junction, Alabama in possession of one of the stolen guns. Officials later located Stanley Young, a convicted felon, in the state of New York.

 

In late May 2017, a federal grand jury for the Southern District of Alabama returned a four-count indictment against Bell, Hoppins, and Young. On July 19, 2017, Bell pleaded guilty to stealing firearms from a licensed firearms business, and Hoppins pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms. On September 19, 2017, Young pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms. His sentencing is scheduled for December 22, 2017.

 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fourth Judicial Drug Task Force in Selma, Alabama investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Sinan Kalayoglu prosecuted the case.

 

A copy of this press release is on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/.