FOX 2 - A Detroit man was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison for felon in possession of a firearm.
The backstory:
Cartez Howard was sentenced to 200 months for his conviction by jury on two counts of possession of firearms as a felon, in December of 2025. His sentence was handed down Tuesday.
Howard, 38, was on federal supervised release with a violent past, when in September, 2025, he got into an argument over a parking spot outside a business.
Court records said this led him to pull an AR-style rifle and fire a shot at the victim's feet. Howard then tried to grab the victim’s glasses before driving away.
The victim followed Howard to report him. Howard then drove into a residential neighborhood and fired approximately 30 shots.
Court records said that 11 days Howard drove the same vehicle to a gas station with the same rifle in the backseat and abandoned the car when police found it.
After Howard was arrested, agents searched Howard’s apartment, where they found a second gun hidden in his bedroom closet, tucked under a baby blanket in the room he shared with his infant child and the child’s mother.
"This man is the kind of hell-raiser that can make a neighborhood unlivable. He did just about everything wrong with a gun, except kill somebody. We are thankful that the ATF took him off of our streets," said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon.
The ATF investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas McIntyre and Nhan Ho prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
"Howard repeatedly showed a complete disregard for human life and the safety of those around him — including children inside the home where firearms were hidden," said Justin Meyer, ATF Detroit Field Division. "Violent felons who continue to arm themselves and terrorize our communities will be held accountable.
"This 16-year-plus sentence sends a clear message that ATF and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue armed violent offenders."
The Source: Information for this report is from the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.