NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and sending threatening messages to a former girlfriend through Facebook.
On May 28, 2019, 40-year-old Robert Edgar English, aka “H.B.,” “Hot Boy,” and “Head Buster,” gave money to someone else to purchase a gun for him in a straw-man purchase.
On June 16, 2019, law enforcement seized the firearm from English’s trunk during a traffic stop. In 2005, English was convicted in Kings County, New York, of attempted criminal possession of a weapon. Due to a prior conviction, English was not legally able to possess a gun.
On Sept. 7 and Sept. 8, 2021, English threatened his ex-girlfriend through messages from a Facebook account under the name “Howard Barnes.” Among other messages, English threatened that the victim “better be looking for the reaper” and that he would “black out your whole family.”
On Nov. 13, 2023, English pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and interstate threatening communication.
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