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Vernon Pernell Hendrick, 33, who has multiple convictions on his rap sheet, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for carrying a Springfield Armory model 1911 semi-automatic handgun, one of the most powerful handguns on the market, authorities announced on Wednesday.
According to court documents, Hendrick - while on active supervised release for previous crimes - was stopped by members of the Metropolitan Police Department who sought to question him in October 2022 outside a grocery store in the 1500 block of Alabama Avenue SE.
While speaking with him, prosecutors say that the officers noticed an L-shaped protrusion from an object tucked in Hendrick’s black satchel.
"Hedrick became wide-eyed, wiped sweat from his forehead, then tore off in a sprint," they said. "Police chased after Hendrick on foot and caught him in 20 seconds."
Inside the satchel, officers recovered the semi-automatic military-grade handgun loaded with nine rounds, as well as two additional magazines with another 13 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition.
Hedrick advised officers he kept the gun for “protection.”
Two days after he was stopped by police, Hendrick was indicted on a charge of felon in possession, and he pleaded guilty last April.
Hedrick’s record includes two 2018 convictions in the District for assault with significant bodily injury; a 2012 conviction in Maryland for conspiracy to commit carjacking, and a 2011 District conviction for robbery.
He was also acquitted of a murder charge in 2018.
Hendrick pleaded guilty last April to unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. In addition to his prison term, a judge ordered that Hendrick also serve 36 months of supervised release.
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