by Katie Sergent | News Channel 3
Sat, November 2nd 2024 at 8:18 PM
Razor wire is pictured outside a Michigan Department of Corrections-run prison in this undated file photo. A Kalamazoo man was sentenced Friday to just over eight years in prison for being a felon in possession of guns, including some tied to shootings in Kalamazoo, and drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Western District of Michigan. (File/WWMT)
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A Kalamazoo man will spend just over eight years behind bars for being a felon in possession of guns, including some tied to shootings in Kalamazoo, and drug trafficking.
Officers found George Henry, 48, in his home with an assault rifle equipped with a bump stock and high capacity magazine, along with a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun, on Jan. 25, 2023,according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
He also had cocaine that was packaged for sale despite being previously convicted for several gun and drug-based felonies, officials said.
After this incident, the 48-year-old was charged for having more guns and drugs on Aug. 9, 2023.
This included a Smith and Wesson handgun that was linked to a 2023 Kalamazoo homicide case, according to the department.
Charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement, but Henry agreed that the court could consider this and other conduct as part of the “appropriate sentence,” officials said.
However, during a traffic stop on Nov. 4, Henry was found with yet another gun, a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun, and a multitude of drugs.
This gun was linked through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to two Kalamazoo shootings that also happened in early 2023, according to the department.
Henry was eventually charged as part of Safe Summer 2023, a gun violence enforcement program under the U.S. Attorney’s Office that is “committed to prosecute all firearms offenders who possess crime guns (that is, guns previously fired in the commission of a crime,” officials said.
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“Everyone, no matter where they live, has a right to live free from gun violence,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said. “Our Safe Summer program is one tool to make this right a reality. This program keeps us focused on those few individuals – like George Henry – who are driving violence in our communities.”
Henry would later plead guilty in May, and was sentenced Friday.
This case was investigated by Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
