MACON, Ga. - A Macon resident with prior felonies taken into custody on state warrants while in illegal possession of a gun was sentenced to prison this week for violating federal gun law.
Craig R. Harpe, 40, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. (Tripp) Self, III on Dec. 7, after he previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working closely with our law enforcement partners to hold individuals with a history of violent criminal activity accountable for illegal gun possession," said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Convicted felons arrested in illegal possession of firearms will face the possibility of federal prosecution for their crime"
“The conviction of Craig Harpe illustrates what can happen when a convicted felon travels on city streets with a gun in their possession. A stop by an alert deputy for a minor traffic violation has resulted in a potentially dangerous individual with a gun being removed from our community," said Bibb County Sheriff David J. Davis.
According to court documents, Harpe was stopped for a traffic violation in Macon on Oct. 5, 2020. Harpe was wearing an empty gun holster and officers discovered he was wanted on state warrants and was a convicted felon. Officers found a loaded.380 semiautomatic handgun in Harpe’s car. Harpe was previously convicted on two felony armed robbery charges in the Superior Court of Dekalb County, Georgia and served ten years for his crimes. It is illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The case was investigated by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom prosecuted the case for the Government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
