Jury Finds Little Rock Felon Guilty of Possessing a Firearm

      LITTLE ROCK—After a two-day trial, a federal jury has found Antoine Ladale Perkins, 41, guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The jury returned their verdict late Tuesday afternoon after trial began on Monday and continued with testimony on Tuesday. United States District Judge Brian S. Miller presided over the trial, and Judge Miller will sentence Perkins, of Little Rock, at a later date. 

     On December 22, 2017, a Little Rock Police Sergeant was driving in the area of Fulton Street in Little Rock, near Perkins’ home, when someone opened fire on the Sergeant’s undercover vehicle. Investigators recovered spent shell casings from Perkins’ yard and front porch, the scene of the shooting. Officers recovered a Norinco rifle from inside Perkins’ home, and Perkins confessed to bringing the firearm to his house. The Arkansas State Crime Lab confirmed that some of the shell casings were fired from the Norinico rifle.

     “This case involved the ambush of an undercover police officer in the line of duty,” said Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “Violent attacks against those who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve our citizens will not be tolerated by this office.”

     Because Perkins is a felon, it is illegal for him to possess a firearm. A grand jury indicted Perkins on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in January 2020. He has a prior federal conviction for aiding and abetting the armed assault of a postal employee and using a prohibited weapon during a crime of violence, and he has a state conviction for possession of cocaine with purpose to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.

     “In our effort to disrupt violent gun crime in our community, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will continue to focus efforts on prohibited individuals, like Antoine Perkins, who unlawfully possess firearms,” said ATF New Orleans Field Division Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn. “ATF will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities and hold accountable those who threaten our safety.”

     The statutory penalty for being a felon in possession of ammunition is not more than 10 years imprisonment, not more than three years of supervised release, and not more than a $250,000 fine. The investigation was conducted by the Little Rock Police Department, ATF, and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stephanie Mazzanti and Amanda Fields.