BOISE - Adekusibe Mark Onibokun, 38, of Meridian, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 40 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney, Rafael M. Gonzalez announced today. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Onibokun to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay a $3,000 fine.
According to court records, in 2005, Onibokun was convicted of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16 in Ada County. While on parole for that offense, Idaho Department of Correction parole officers received a report that Onibokun had threatened someone and was in possession of a firearm. Parole officers searched Onibokun’s vehicle on June 4, 2019 and discovered a loaded Glock.40 handgun underneath the driver’s seat. On June 10, 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Onibokun with unlawful possession of the firearm. Onibokun proceeded to a federal jury trial in November 2020 in Boise. At trial, Onibokun testified that he had no knowledge of the firearm and he also called his girlfriend as a witness and she testified that she had mistakenly left the firearm in his vehicle without his knowledge. After deliberating for six hours, the jury informed the Court that they were unable to come to a unanimous verdict and a mistrial was declared. After trial, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives discovered a recorded jail call between Onibokun and his girlfriend which established they both lied during their testimony at trial. After receiving the recorded calls, Onibokun pleaded guilty on Dec. 21, 2020, and acknowledged that he knowingly possessed the firearm and committed perjury at trial. Onibokun received a sentencing enhancement for obstruction of justice.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boise Police Department, and Idaho Department of Correction.
This case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
