LaDerrick Hopson

MONTGOMERY, Alabama — A Bay Minette man has been sentenced in a federal court Wednesday on the charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition in connection with a Prichard shooting in February.

According to a release issued Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama, LaDerrick Deanrey Hopson, 24, of Bay Minette, pled guilty to the charge in July of 2018.

The evidence presented at the sentencing hearing showed Hopson depicted on surveillance video at a convenience store on St. Stephens Road in February of 2018 as he entered the store, then followed another customer out of the store and shot him.

The video showed Hopson rack the gun once prior to firing it, and the ammunition ejected from the gun was recovered in the investigation that followed the shooting. The customer, identified as 42-year-old Rodney Martin, later died at the hospital.

According to reports, Hopson later confessed to the crime and was picked up on murder charges with the Prichard Police Department. According to the release, Hopson has pending state charges relating to the homicide. The federal indictment reflected that his prior conviction is for robbery second degree in 2016.

Judge Kristi K. Dubose imposed a sentence of 71 months imprisonment for the federal charge involving the ammunition, to be followed by a term of supervised release of three years. No fine was imposed, but Hopson was ordered to pay $100 in special mandatory assessments.

The case was investigated by the Prichard Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted in the U.S. Attorney’s Office by assistant U.S. attorney Gloria Bedwell.