Brockton Repeat Felon Caught Driving Drunk With a Gun

BOSTON — A repeat felon from Brockton with three prior convictions was sentenced yesterday for his fourth federal firearms charge after he was found allegedly driving drunk with a gun during a traffic stop in Taunton.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said 40-year-old Darnell Upshaw will serve over five years in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to a firearm and ammunition possession charge in September.

Upshaw was pulled over for traffic violations on Route 140 in Taunton in November 2019.

The officer allegedly found him to be "extremely inebriated," with an open bottle of Hennessey's in the vehicle, according to the office.

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During his arrest, a search of the vehicle turned up a loaded 9mm Glock pistol under the driver's side floor mat, with the grip facing up towards the driver.

Upshaw is prohibited from owning a gun due to his three previous convictions, one of which also involved drunk driving with a gun.

In April 2005, Upshaw sold an undercover agent 50 rounds of .25 caliber ammunition, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.

More than a decade later, in August 2015, he was found to be driving drunk with a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol during a traffic stop.

He is also suspected of involvement in a May 2017 shooting on Owens Avenue in Brockton, according to the office.

During an investigation of the incident, authorities suspected Upshaw, later finding the vehicle described in the shooting at his house.

Upshaw fled from officers to his girlfriend's mother's house, where he was arrested.

He was later found to be wearing a shirt with traces of gunshot primer residue, and a loaded firearm was found near a fence he had climbed while running from police.