14-time felon charged in federal court in connection to March Spokane Valley shooting

A Spokane man who was arrested in connection to a Spokane Valley shooting earlier this year has now been charged in federal court with illegally possessing a firearm.

Robert Hensley, 32, was arrested in March for allegedly shooting a man in the chest in the parking lot of a Spokane Valley Walgreens. Those charges in Spokane County Superior Court have since been dropped in favor of the federal charge, according to court documents.

Hensley was charged on Aug. 3 with felon in possession of a firearm in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Washington.

He entered a plea of not guilty to the charge on Aug. 12. He’s being held by the U.S. Marshals until further notice, according to court documents.

Hensley had been convicted of 14 felonies before the March shooting. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to helping a mother and daughter beat and rob a man in Spokane. At the time, he was a member of a local gang, according to court documents.

He faces up to 10 years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines and up to three years of probation for the federal charge.