Staff report

NEW BERN – A Lumberton gang member has been given a sentence of 100 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, the Department of Justice says in a news release.

Quillan Inman, 33, was convicted of the charge by a federal jury on Nov. 29.

Inman is a “validated gang member from Lumberton,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Robeson County deputies made a traffic stop on a vehicle Inman was riding in before the vehicle evaded them and reached speeds of 90 mph, the department said. When the vehicle eventually stopped, Inman was observed making “suspicious movements” toward the front of his hooded sweatshirt.

As he stepped out of the vehicle, a deputy reported that he noticed the handle of a handgun sticking out of the pocket of Inman’s hoodie, according to the Department of Justice. He was immediately cuffed, the DOJ added, and tried reaching for the gun as the deputy patted him down.

The deputy also found cocaine and suboxone strips and three more guns after searching the vehicle, according to the DOJ. Inman denied possessing the gun throughout the case and even told the jury at trial that the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office planted all the evidence.

The DOJ said Inman has a previous conviction in North Carolina state court of robbery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of second-degree kidnapping.