Man gets nearly 4 years in prison after posing with a loaded gun in social-media video just days after his release on a gun sentence

A federal judge yesterday sentenced a Roxbury man to nearly four years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm following his arrest on gun charges just a week after he was released from prison from an 18-month sentence for assault with a firearm.

Tyreek Hall, 21 and an associate of the H Block Raiders gang, was arrested June 9, 2022 on Elm Hill Park in Roxbury by Boston police officers who found a "ghost" gun loaded with eight bullets in his waistband. That was a week after he'd been released from a state prison sentence and shortly after he made his social-media appearance with the gun.

Hall pleaded guilty in September. Both prosecutors and his attorney urged US District Court Judge Indira Talwani to sentence him to the 46 months she did; prosecutors to urge that she sentence him to no less, his attorney to urge she sentence him to no more, even after acknowledging "the absurdity and arrogance of his behavior having just been released from custody." The probation department had recommended a sentence of between 55 and 71 months.

Prosecutors noted that in addition to the 18-month sentence, Hall had also spent a year in jail for assault and battery, possession of a Class B drug and making threats, and 241 days in jail for larceny over $1,200. They said 46 months, and the three years of probation to follow, would be enough for Hall to enroll in programs to help him break the cycle of mental-health and other problems that have left him behind bars for most of his short adult life.

A significant sentence of 46 months’ imprisonment would emphasize to the defendant that no amount of involvement in illegal firearm or ammunition possession will be tolerated. Further, given his age and criminal history, a significant sentence at BOP would underscore the stakes for the defendant. That given this history, he cannot return to a life of crime, his prior gang affiliations and firearm possession after his release. Instead, he should take advantage of the programming available while incarcerated.

His attorney wrote:

The American Psychological Association, in a 2008 report, found that …[p]articularly before the age of 15, adolescents appear to display psychosocial immaturity in at least four areas: poor resistance to peer influence, attitudes toward and perception of risk, future orientation, and impulse control." "The case for psychosocial immaturity during adolescence is also supported by evidence from developmental neuroscience indicating that the brain structures of adolescents are less well developed than previously thought." For a young person like Mr. Hall to experience significant childhood trauma and exposure to gang violence and firearms, the impact on his development is undeniable.

One of the reasons we request a below-guideline sentence of 46 months is because the data suggest that young people who are incarcerated suffer significant trauma and their path to returning to their communities as successful adults is riddled with more challenges. For example, he has not completed high school, obtained a GED and he has never been old enough, and in the community long enough, to have a full-time job.