KC MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced a Kansas City, Mo., man who was arrested after ramming a police car twice then leading officers on a high-speed chase was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Preston B. Carter, 34, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 years in federal prison without parole, which is the maximum penalty.

On Jan. 5, 2012, Carter pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Carter admitted that he was in possession of a Titan .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Carter was arrested on March 23, 2011, when Kansas City, Mo., police officers conducted a car check on a stolen vehicle at a gas station at 3027 Van Brunt, Kansas City. As one of the officers pulled in behind the stolen vehicle and activated his emergency equipment, Carter (the driver of the stolen vehicle) immediately put the vehicle in reverse and struck the front of the marked patrol car. Carter then pulled forward, reversed the stolen vehicle and struck the front of the patrol car a second time just as an officer was stepping out of the car, knocking him to the ground.

Carter then fled in the stolen vehicle and led police officers in a pursuit that lasted several minutes. Carter and a second passenger fled from the vehicle on foot after driving down a dead end street near 30th and Poplar. Carter was eventually apprehended and, during a custodial search, officers found the handgun concealed in his left front pants pocket.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearms or ammunition. Carter has prior felony convictions for stealing, possessing a controlled substance, tampering, driving with a revoked license, assaulting a law enforcement officer and property damage.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin G. Davids. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the ATF.

Project Ceasefire, launched in October 1999, is a cooperative initiative by federal and local law enforcement and the Kansas City Crime Commission that targets for federal prosecution persons who unlawfully use or possess firearms.