Ocala, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury yesterday found Lucien Frank Sobolewski (44, Eustis) guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by an unlawful user of a controlled substance (marijuana). Sobolewski faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Sobolewski was indicted on March 20, 2013.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, U.S. Forestry officers stopped Sobolewski in the Ocala National Forest on February 6, 2013, for failure to wear a seatbelt. Sobolewski admitted to the officers that he had a.50 caliber handgun and marijuana inside of his truck. Even though Sobolewski was not a law enforcement officer, a search revealed a replica Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) badge mounted inside his wallet. Further investigation revealed that Sobolewski had engaged in a pattern of marijuana use since he was 19 years old. Though Sobolewski had a Florida concealed weapons permit for the firearm, his pattern of marijuana use prohibited him from possessing either firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Forestry Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
This case is involves ATF’s Frontline model - a three-pronged approach to violent crime reduction through community involvement, criminal enforcement, and sustainable prevention.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
