ALBUQUERQUE - Paul J. Harry, 32, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Harry was arrested on Jan. 17, 2017, and charged by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) on May 2, 2016, in Chaves County, N.M. According to the complaint, Harry was arrested on an outstanding warrant for failing to comply with probation following a routine traffic stop. Law enforcement officers subsequently executed a state search warrant on Harry’s vehicle and seized a sawed off rifle, which was not registered to Harry in the NFRTR, and ammunition.
Harry was indicted on April 19, 2017, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the indictment, Harry previously had been convicted of burglary.
During today’s proceedings, Harry pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on May 2, 2016, he possessed a short-barreled rifle. Harry further admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.
At sentencing, Harry faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Roswell Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brock E. Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys