Jefferson City Man Sentenced for Illegal Firearm

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Charles Allen Roark, 38, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 12 years in federal prison without parole – 10 years, which is the statutory maximum penalty for the offense, plus a consecutive sentence of two years for his supervised release revocation (Roark was on supervised release as part of a federal sentence for a prior conviction of distributing crack cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm).

On July 18, 2016, a jury found Roark guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Roark was in possession of a loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber pistol on July 18, 2015.

On that date, Jefferson City police officers activated their emergency lights to pull over Roark for having expired license plates. Roark, however, refused to stop and continued driving to the 300 block of Washington Street, where he pulled into a parking lot, got out of his vehicle and fled on foot. Officers pursued Roark on foot. During the pursuit, Roark pulled a pistol from his waistband and threw it on the ground. Roark scaled a fence and continued to flee.

An officer was able to grab Roark and take him to the ground. Roark continued to resist, but officers were able to gain control and was forcibly taken into custody at gunpoint. During the pursuit, one of the officers broke his ankle.

Officers found the loaded pistol lying on the ground during a search of the area. Roark was in possession of $20,131, of which $8,151 was recovered from underneath the soles of his shoes.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Roark has prior federal felony convictions for distributing controlled substances and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Roark also has two prior state felony convictions for possession of controlled substances, two prior state felony convictions for assault, and prior state felony convictions for driving while intoxicated and unlawful use of a weapon.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.