JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Michael Lee Miller, 22, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan on Thursday, July 18, 2013, to three years and one month in federal prison without parole.
On Nov. 29, 2012, Miller pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Miller admitted that he was in possession of a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic.40-caliber handgun on July 27, 2012.
Jefferson City police officers were conducting patrol in the 1100 block of East McCarty Street - where two recent shootings had occurred and where.40-caliber shell casings were recovered - at approximately 9:17 p.m. on July 27, 2012. The officers saw Miller and two other men standing outside in front of a residence. When the officers got out of their unmarked patrol car, Miller walked away from the officers toward the porch.
When one of the officers told Miller he wanted to speak with him, Miller replied, “You’re not searching me." Miller turned his back to the officers. One of the officers immediately frisked Miller and found the loaded handgun in his waistband. Miller was placed under arrest.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Miller has prior felony convictions for receiving stolen property, burglary and assault.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
