KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Christopher R. Williams, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 15 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Williams was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
On Nov. 20, 2018, Williams pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Williams admitted that he was in possession of a Taurus.357-caliber revolver on July 13, 2017.
Williams was arrested in front of a Kansas City, Mo., residence on a pending warrant for possession of a controlled substance. Police officers then searched the house and found the loaded firearm under the mattress of Williams’s bed, as well as spare ammunition under the bed. Officers also found an assortment of illegal drugs - including 2.7 grams of cocaine, 11 ecstasy pills, and 2.5 grams of marijuana - in his pants pocket. Elsewhere in the bedroom, the police found 1.6 grams of marijuana and a glass pipe with marijuana residue.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Williams has four prior felony convictions for drug trafficking and four prior felony convictions for possessing a controlled substance. Williams was on probation at the time of this offense.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Raskin. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
