BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison with five years of post-release supervision after fleeing from police and possessing an illegal gun.
According to the Erie County District Attorney's Office, on July 18, around 9:30 p.m., officers initiated a traffic stop after seeing a car traveling on East Utica Street without illuminated taillights.
During the traffic stop on Glenwood Avenue near Roehrer Avenue, police determined Eric Hawkins Jr., 40, was driving with a suspended license.
When asked to turn off the vehicle, Hawkins locked the doors, rolled the windows up and drove off at a high rate of speed.
Police followed Hawkins onto the inbound Route 33/Kensington Expressway. Hawkins was arrested after the vehicle was stopped in a parking lot at Bennett Lane near Mable Court.
A bag containing an illegal loaded pistol was recovered on Hamboldt Parkway between Glenwood Avenue and East Utica Street. The pistol was reported stolen in Dallas, Texas, and Hawkins was linked to the weapon through DNA analysis.
In March, Hawkins was found guilty of one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
