OKLAHOMA CITY – TERRENCE L. HILL, 38, of Oklahoma City, and
RONALD BENTON, 47, of Temple, Oklahoma, have been convicted in separate cases
of illegally possessing ammunition and a firearm respectively, announced U.S.
Attorney Timothy J. Downing. Both cases
are part of "Operation 922," the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s effort to
prosecute individuals who perpetrate domestic violence and violate federal gun
laws.
The Terrence L. Hill Conviction
A grand jury indicted Terrence Hill on February 5, 2019, for
possessing four .380 caliber steel cartridge casings after having been
convicted of a felony. On October 8 and
9, 2019, a federal jury heard evidence that Hill, who has a felony conviction,
shot his former girlfriend at her residence in northwest Oklahoma City in the
early morning hours of September 19, 2018.
After having dated for approximately two years, Hill and his girlfriend
broke up in early 2018. The girlfriend
filed a petition for a protective order against Hill in Oklahoma County District
Court on September 12, 2018. The
evidence at trial showed that on the evening of September 18, 2018, Hill called
his former girlfriend and threatened to kill her and her daughter. After a nearly sleepless night, the
girlfriend saw Hill in her backyard at around 7:00 a.m. According to the trial evidence, he fired at
least four shots at her through a patio window and hit her twice in the back as
she tried to escape. Investigators
recovered four casings in the backyard.
The victim’s wounds were not fatal.
On October 11, 2019, a jury unanimously found Hill guilty of
possessing ammunition after a felony conviction. At sentencing, he faces a maximum penalty of
ten years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine
of up to $250,000. Sentencing will take
place in approximately 90 days.
The Ronald Benton Conviction
Ronald Benton was indicted on December 12, 2018, for
possessing a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic
violence. He entered a guilty plea on
March 11, 2019. On August 22, 2019,
however, the court allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea because of a new
U.S. Supreme Court case that held that the government must prove the defendant
knew the status that made his gun possession a federal crime. On September 3, a grand jury returned a
superseding indictment that added the allegation that Benton made a false
statement on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
("ATF") Form 4473 when he purchased a 9mm pistol in Lawton in May
2018 and stated he had never been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic
violence.
A jury heard the evidence against Benton on October 8,
2019. In particular, it heard that
Benton had been convicted of misdemeanor battery against his spouse in New
Mexico in 2007. The evidence showed the
ATF contacted him after his May 2018 firearm purchase to inform him he was not
allowed to possess a firearm. The ATF
executed a search warrant at his home in Temple, Oklahoma, on June 15, 2018,
and found the pistol and ammunition in his bedroom.
Benton was convicted unanimously on October 9 on the gun
crime. The jury acquitted him of lying
to purchase the weapon. He faces a
maximum penalty of ten years in prison, followed by three years of supervised
release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.
* *
* * *
The Hill conviction is the result of an investigation by the
Oklahoma City Police Department and the ATF, with assistance from FBI-Oklahoma
City Division. It is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Hutzell and Matthew P. Anderson. The Benton conviction is the result of an
investigation by the ATF. It is being
prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wilson D. McGarry and Jason M. Harley.
"Operation 922" is the local implementation of the
national PSN initiative in the Western District of Oklahoma. Rather than focusing on prosecutions coming
from a geographic area, "Operation 922" prioritizes prosecutions on a
subject matter plaguing Oklahoma: domestic violence. As part of this initiative, federal
prosecutors focus on enforcing 18 U.S.C. § 922, which precludes specific
individuals—including not only felons, but also domestic-violence abusers who are
subject to a victim protective order or who have been previously convicted of a
misdemeanor crime of domestic violence—from possessing firearms or
ammunition. In addition, the U.S.
Attorney’s Office prosecutes domestic abuse in Indian Country, including
assaults, batteries, strangulations, and homicides.
Reference is made to public filings for further information.
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