By james art A Winston-Salem man was sentenced to federal prison Monday after pleading guilty in August to two gun charges related to two car chases, authorities said.
Amari Jaques Hairston, 21, received a 12-year sentence from U.S. District Court Judge William L. Osteen Jr., the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Greensboro said.
Osteen also gave Hairston five years of supervised release after Hairston served her time in prison. Osteen ordered Hairston to confiscate two handguns, two machine gun conversion devices and ammunition.
Hairston pleaded guilty Aug. 7 to two counts of possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
According to court records, Winston-Salem police attempted to pull over a black Honda carrying four people on July 15, 2022. At the time, police were searching for a suspect in a gang-related shooting.
The driver did not stop and the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed on Silas Creek Parkway, weaving in and out of traffic. During the chase, officers saw Hairston, a passenger, throw drugs and weapons out the left rear window of the Honda, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Police officers and Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies stopped and recovered the items Hairston had thrown from the vehicle. Other officers continued the pursuit.
The pursuit ended when a deputy used his vehicle to hit and crash the suspects’ vehicle on Reynolda Road, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Investigators found two handguns, ammunition, a small amount of fentanyl and 12 ounces of marijuana.
In another incident on October 11, 2023, Winston-Salem police attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a blue Dodge Charger traveling northbound on Polo Road.
The driver failed to stop, crossed the double yellow line and collided with a tractor-trailer traveling westbound on Akron Drive, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. After the crash, the driver, later identified as Hairston, fled.
Inside the charger, investigators found a handgun, a machine gun conversion device, 1.75 ounces of marijuana, a scale and 15 pills containing fentanyl and other controlled substances, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
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