Richmond felon gets 5-year sentence for possessing firearm
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A Richmond man previously convicted of assaulting his 17-year-old former girlfriend was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On July 16, 2024, officers with the Richmond Police Department approached 41-year-old Terry B. Matthews in a Richmond parking lot. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Matthews fled on foot as the officers attempted to begin a conversation with him.
Matthews then jumped from a ledge and ended up hurting himself. The officers saw a loaded handgun in Matthews' waistband, which they recovered alongside a plastic bag containing over five grams of cocaine.
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This is not Matthews' first run-in with the law. His several other convictions, as provided by the DOJ, include:
- Possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
- Assault and batter after "beating his 17-year-old former girlfriend with a wooden board and a stick."
- Second-degree murder after using a tree branch to hit a person in the head who owed him money.
As Matthews is a previously convicted felon, he is not legally permitted to have firearms or ammunition. On Monday, July 7, he was sentenced to five years in prison for that crime.
