Damien Diggs U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas
An Orange, Texas man has been sentenced for a federal firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas. Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. announced that Alton Wayne Wallace, 31, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and received a sentence of 63 months in federal prison from U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone on February 13, 2025.
Court records indicate that just before midnight on October 27, 2023, law enforcement officers responded to a report of loitering behind a restaurant on 16th Street in Orange. Officers discovered Wallace sitting on a gun in the passenger seat of the car described in the call and found another pistol on the floorboard in front of him. Further investigation revealed Wallace had previously been convicted of carjacking in Beaumont. A federal grand jury indicted him on May 1, 2024. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which unites all levels of law enforcement and communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence while making neighborhoods safer. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN with core principles such as fostering trust and legitimacy in communities, supporting community-based organizations to prevent violence, setting focused enforcement priorities, and measuring results.
The Orange Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross prosecuted it.
