Justin Lloyd Coleman Sentenced to 80 Months for Illegal Firearms Possession
A Huntersville, North Carolina man was sentenced on August 12, 2026, to 80 months in prison for illegally possessing firearms, including a machinegun.
On August 12, 2026, Justin Lloyd Coleman, 44, of Huntersville, N.C., was ordered to serve 80 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing multiple firearms, including a machinegun, according to official court records and an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina. The case remains open as Coleman is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation to a federal facility. According to court records, law enforcement learned in December 2024 that Coleman illegally possessed various firearms and suspected destructive devices. Coleman had previously served time in prison for a state firearm conviction and was prohibited from possessing firearms. Officers searched a residence associated with Coleman and located four AR-style rifles hidden in the attic. Upon arresting Coleman, law enforcement searched his apartment and found multiple firearms, including a short-barreled rifle with a high-capacity magazine, machineguns, firearm components, ammunition, five destructive devices (improvised grenades), and components to build destructive devices. Coleman pleaded guilty to possession of a machinegun in November 2025. Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said, "Coleman knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms, yet he armed himself with multiple guns, including a machinegun. Keeping firearms out of the hands of those who should not have them in the first place is important for the safety of our communities, and we will prosecute them at the federal level." U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Huntersville Police Department, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for their work on the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte.
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- Version 120 Aug 2026, 13:37current
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