Felon sentenced to prison for illegally possessing multiple firearms and violating supervised release terms for prior federal drug conviction (DOJ)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - An armed felon was sentenced to prison yesterday for possessing multiple firearms and for violating the terms of his supervised release stemming from a prior federal conviction, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Rex Allen Hawkins, 55, of Traphill, N.C. was ordered to serve 20 months in prison for the firearms offense, and an additional 12 months in prison for the supervised release violation, for a total active sentence of 32 months in prison. Hawkins was also ordered to serve three years of court supervision after he is released from prison.

According to court records, Hawkins was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute, possess with intent to distribute, and to manufacture methamphetamine. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to serve a term of supervision upon completion of his prison sentence. Between 2021 and 2023, the court revoked Hawkins's supervision twice for violating conditions of supervised release. According to court records, Hawkins began his most recent term of supervision in May 2024.

According to court documents, in September 2024, U.S. Probation officers conducted a warrantless search of Hawkins's residence in Traphill, N.C., pursuant to the standard conditions of the court-ordered supervision. During the search, probation officers found multiple firearms inside residence, including a Marlin, Model 25MN, .22 WMR bolt action rifle; a Rossi, Model S201220RS, Youth Matched Pair firearm with interchangeable .22LR barrel and 20-gauge shotgun barrel; a firearm lower receiver; and multiple live rounds of various calibers of ammunition. Probation officers also found hydrocodone pills, well as small amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the residence.

In February 2026, Hawkins pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. He is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation to a federal facility.

This investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Probation Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Gleason of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

Updated September 10, 2026