Wilbert Lamon Rivers, a 27-year-old resident of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The announcement was made by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The charge against Rivers resulted from an investigation conducted by the Muscogee (Creek) Lighthorse Police Department, the Okmulgee Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. On November 4, 2024, Rivers entered a guilty plea. Investigators reported that on November 4, 2023, law enforcement found him with forty rounds of ammunition and a semi-automatic pistol capable of accepting a large capacity magazine. This occurred after he had been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The program's strategy focuses on fostering trust within communities, supporting organizations that prevent violence, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring outcomes.
The sentencing hearing was presided over by U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Rivers will remain in custody under the U.S. Marshals Service until he is transported to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve his non-paroleable sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Soverly represented the United States in this case.
