Decade in jail could follow 3 shots inside a Port Arthur home and wounded victim
Published 6:27 am Sunday, October 10, 2021
- Charles Lock
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BEAUMONT — Three shots fired inside a Port Arthur home, one victim struck in the leg and a previous conviction might lead to a decade-long prison sentence.
Charles Nicholas Lock, 34, pleaded guilty Friday to being a felon in possession of ammunition before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.
He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
READ MORE: 2019 fatal hit-&-run “person of interest” taken into custody.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the U.S. Probation Office complets a presentence investigation.
According to court documents, on Oct. 22, 2018, Port Arthur Police Department officers responded to an emergency call inside a residence on 7th Street in Port Arthur.
Upon arrival, they located the victim laying on a couch, bleeding from a gunshot wound to his leg.
The victim told officers he got into a verbal argument with Lock, after which Lock fired three shots at him, striking him one time in the leg.
Other witnesses reported seeing Lock flee the scene after the shooting. Officers located three spent .380 caliber shell casings on the floor of the residence where the shooting occurred.
Further investigation revealed Lock has previously been convicted in October 2008 of possession of a controlled substance in Jefferson County, and as a convicted felon, is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
Lock was indicted by a federal grand jury Sep. 7, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Port Arthur Police Department and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Quinn.
“This case unfortunately shows why convicted felons are prohibited from owning firearms and ammunition,” Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said. “Project Safe Neighborhood prosecutions like this one demonstrate that the people of Jefferson County should not, and will not, accept the unreasonable risk of harm posed by armed felons in their community.”
