ALBUQUERQUE - Mark William Elliot, 46, of Raton, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition. Elliot entered the guilty plea under a conditional plea agreement that permits him to withdraw his guilty plea if he is successful in challenging a court order denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from him when he was arrested, which included a firearm and ammunition.
Elliot was arrested in July 2016, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on March 25, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the indictment, Elliot was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of five counts of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, tampering with evidence, forgery and shooting at an occupied building.
According to court documents, on March 25, 2016, Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers found Elliot asleep on the sidewalk next to his motorcycle, which was illegally parked in the road next to a stop sign. After waking Elliot, the officers observed a bulge in Elliot’s right front pocket. When the officers realized there was a firearm in Elliot’s pocket, Elliot attempted to flee, ran into an APD officer, and was arrested. APD officers recovered a loaded firearm and ammunition, approximately 18 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia from Elliot’s jacket during a search incident to his arrest.
During today’s proceedings, Elliot pled guilty conditionally to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. In entering the guilty plea, Elliot admitted possessing a loaded firearm in his right front pocket during an interaction with APD officers on March 25, 2016. Elliot acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition on March 25, 2016, because of his status as a convicted felon.
At sentencing, Elliot faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and APD and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
