Convicted Felon Given 10 Years for Firearm Possession

CONVICTED FELON SENTENCED TO A DECADE IN PRISON FOR FIREARM POSSESSION

DISCOVERED FOLLOWING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CALL

 OKLAHOMA CITY – Antonio Dewayne Adams, 40, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to 120 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.  That firearm was discovered by law enforcement responding to a domestic violence call.

“We will continue to bring firearms charges against perpetrators of domestic violence who violate federal law, particularly when they actively menace their families and those in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Downing. “Through this case and others like it, the Department of Justice is protecting vulnerable families and preventing violence against adults, children, and others.”

Adams was indicted on July 17, 2019, with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Public records indicate Mr. Adams holds felony convictions for burglary in the second degree, possession of a firearm after former conviction of a felony, concealing stolen property, possession of controlled dangerous substances, and assault and battery—domestic abuse. Federal law prohibits possession of firearms by anyone who, among other things, is previously convicted of a felony, previously convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense, or who is subject to a domestic violence protection order.

At a sentencing hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Charles B. Goodwin sentenced Mr. Adams to ten years in prison—the statutory maximum—to be followed by three years of supervised release.  In announcing the sentence, U.S. District Judge Goodwin cited Mr. Adams’ history of domestic violence.  The government presented evidence at sentencing that Mr. Adams brought a loaded firearm to his girlfriend’s residence.  Through the course of the evening, Mr. Adams threatened his girlfriend with the firearm and kept her from leaving the residence.  She eventually escaped to a neighbor’s residence, where police were called.

This sentence is the result of an investigation by the Midwest City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Walters.

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.