Sean P. Costello U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
An Evergreen man has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Court records show that Cornelius Antoine Dean, 34, was arrested by Alabama State Troopers during a traffic stop in Evergreen on July 11, 2023. During the stop, troopers detected the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle where Dean was a passenger. A pat-down search led to the discovery and seizure of a .45 caliber pistol from Dean’s waistband. Authorities also found multiple individually packaged baggies of marijuana and a digital scale in the backseat near Dean’s Alabama identification card.
Dean admitted after his arrest that he possessed the firearm and had previously been convicted of a felony drug-distribution offense. Because of his prior conviction, it was illegal under federal law for him to have a gun. He acknowledged knowing he was not permitted to possess a firearm.
United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer imposed the 46-month prison sentence and ordered Dean to serve three years of supervised release after leaving prison. The court did not issue a fine but required Dean to pay $100 in special assessments and forfeited his pistol to the United States.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted it for the United States.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative that uses Department of Justice resources through its Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) programs to address violent crime and related offenses across communities nationwide.
