The United States Attorney, Richard W. Moore, announces that Johnny Wilson Weaver, a 37 year old resident of Semmes, Alabama was sentenced to 41 months of incarceration for illegal possession of a Hi-Point 9mm rifle after being convicted of felony Possession of a Controlled Substance.
According to a factual statement Weaver signed in connection with his guilty plea, on June 18, 2018, on or about June 14, 2017, deputies of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office travelled to Weaver’s residence to investigate a complaint of possession illegal drugs and child endangerment. When they arrived, Weaver greeted them at his front door. The deputies told Weaver of the complaint and Weaver responded that he had just been released from prison and he lived there with his wife and child. Deputies asked Weaver to tell them of the location of his wife and daughter. Weaver responded that they were at their grandmother’s house. Weaver then told the deputies that he was rolling a marijuana cigarette when they arrived and when he saw them, he threw the marijuana out the window. Weaver agreed to show the deputies where he threw the marijuana. While they looked for the marijuana, one deputy noticed a Hi Point, model 995,.9mm rifle with an obliterated serial number. Deputies then read Weaver his Miranda Rights. Weaver waived his rights and told the deputies that he was “holding" the rifle for a friend but refused to give the friend’s name. Weaver then admitted that he had been firing the rifle occasionally over the last week on his property. Weaver then signed a consent to search his residence. The search was not productive because the residence was in disarray.
At that time, Weaver had been convicted of at least one felony, namely, Possession of Controlled Substance, on June 20, 2016, in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama, case number CC-2015-004904.
Special agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) along with Mobile, Alabama County deputies investigated the case and presented it to the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution. The prosecutor assigned to the case was Assistant United States Attorney Gina S. Vann.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
