LAWTON, OK – MARTAVIOUS ARNEZ GROSS, 23, of Lawton, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to serve 120 months in prison for possessing a firearm during a road rage incident on the H.E. Bailey Turnpike while subject to a domestic violence protective order, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.
On January 8, 2020, Gross was charged with possession of a firearm while subject to a domestic violence protective. On March 10, 2020, he pled guilty to this offense.
According to court documents and public record, on December 11, 2019, Gross was riding in a vehicle driven by co-defendant, Nathan R. Rollins, Jr. Rollins and Gross believed they were cut off by another driver on the turnpike and they caught up to the other vehicle. Gross rolled down his window, yelled at the other driver, made obscene gestures, brandished a firearm for the driver of the other vehicle to see. He then fired at the vehicle with the handgun. In responding to a related 911 call, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper located Rollins’ vehicle, clocking in at 106 miles per hour. After stopping the vehicle, the law enforcement found the handgun that was fired in the incident by Gross, an AR-15 rifle loaded with a high capacity magazine, two black masks, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. Rollins and Gross were subsequently arrested.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced Gross to serve 120 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In imposing the sentence, Judge Heaton noted the serious nature of the offense conduct and Gross’ significant history of violence against domestic partners and law enforcement officers.
Judge Heaton had previously sentenced co-defendant Rollins to serve 120 months in prison for illegal possession of a firearm after a prior felony conviction.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiatives to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. For more information about Project Guardian, please see the Attorney General’s announcement here. The case is also part of “Operation 922,” the district’s local implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian. “Operation 922” prioritizes firearms prosecutions connected to domestic violence, including domestic violence abusers who possess a firearm and are subject to a victim protective order or have been previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
This case is the result of investigations by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Wilson D. McGarry prosecuted the case.
