A Durham man was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a firearm charge, according to an announcement from United States Attorney Clifton T. Barrett of the Middle District of North Carolina.
William Lovell Harper, 26, received a sentence of 96 months imprisonment and three years of post-release supervision from U.S. District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr.
Court records show that on September 4, 2024, officers apprehended Harper on Hillsborough Road in Durham and found a loaded handgun in his possession. At the time, Harper had three active warrants for his arrest. One warrant was related to a robbery in Durham in March 2024; another was for violating his post-release supervision.
Harper had previous convictions for Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury and Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon in Beaufort County in 2017, as well as Conspiracy to Commit Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill in Craven County in 2018. These prior convictions made it illegal for him to possess a firearm at the time of his most recent offense.
In 2023, Harper admitted membership in the Bloods criminal street gang.
Earlier this year, Harper was convicted of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon in Durham County for conduct that occurred on March 28, 2024. He received an additional sentence ranging from 11 to 146 months. Sixty months of the new federal sentence will run consecutively to his state sentence.
Harper pleaded guilty on April 10, 2025, to one count of felon in possession of a firearm under federal law (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8)).
The investigation involved the Durham Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Durham County District Attorney’s Office also provided assistance. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Iverson prosecuted the case.
