DOJ: Warrior man sentenced to 5 years, 1 month in prison

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The following information is from the United States Department of Justice:

On May 16, a federal judge sentenced a convicted felon for illegal possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

U.S. District Court Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced 30-year-old Dantrell Dujuan Purifoy, of Warrior, to 61 months in prison. Purifoy pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in January.

According to the plea agreement, on July 27, 2022, a Warrior police officer received a license plate reader report on a stolen vehicle. The officer saw Purifoy pull into a residence in Warrior. The officer recognized Purifoy from prior interactions with law enforcement. The officer exited the vehicle and held Purifoy at gunpoint. Purifoy backed his vehicle up, accelerated forward, and struck the officer’s driver’s side door, causing injury to the officer’s foot. Purifoy fled in the stolen vehicle and the officer pursued him. The pursuit ended when Purifoy lost control of the vehicle and ran off a cliff. Purifoy was able to escape the vehicle and fled on foot. The Warrior Police Department K-9 unit was deployed, and Purifoy was apprehended by the officers. Officers recovered a pistol from the vehicle.

Purifoy was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior felony convictions. Purifoy was convicted on Nov. 8, 2017, in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County, Alabama, of the offense of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance; convicted on Feb. 26, 2018, in the District Court of Jefferson County, Alabama, of the offense of Certain Persons Forbidden to Possess Pistol; convicted on March 18, 2019, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama, of the offense of Receiving Stolen Property, First Degree; and convicted on Aug. 5, 2019, in the Circuit Court of Blount County, Alabama, of the offenses of Burglary, Third Degree, and Theft of Property, Second Degree.

ATF investigated the case, along with the Warrior Police Department.

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