Phillip Alphonso Mayes, a 74-year-old previously convicted felon from the District of Columbia, was sentenced on April 1 to ten months in prison for unlawful possession of two handguns and ammunition, and six months for resisting arrest, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Mayes pleaded guilty on December 1, 2025 before Judge Trevor N. McFadden to charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon as well as resisting arrest. In addition to the prison sentences, Judge McFadden ordered Mayes to serve one year of supervised release.
Court documents state that on August 22, 2025, an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department responded to a multiunit housing building in the 3800 block of W Street SE after a .38 Special revolver was found in a mailbox. While guarding the weapon, the officer encountered Mayes who attempted to retrieve it and stated "that's mine" before it was taken from him by force. During an attempt to arrest him, Mayes struggled with the officer—pushing her against a wall and pulling her up two flights of stairs—before she broke free and returned downstairs with scratches on her right forearm and face.
After his arrest, officers executed a search warrant at Mayes’ residence where they found another loaded firearm—a .357 Magnum revolver—hidden in a closet bag. Mayes admitted ownership of both weapons. He was prohibited from possessing firearms due to previous felony convictions: possession of controlled substances in Illinois (2001) resulting in two years' imprisonment; retail fraud; and being deemed a habitual offender in Michigan (1992), which led to another prison sentence ranging between sixteen months and two years.
The case was investigated by both the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Blake J. Ellison and John Parron prosecuted the case under the Make D.C. Safe Again initiative—a law enforcement effort supporting President Trump’s Executive Order aimed at reducing gun violence through prioritizing federal firearms violations and seeking tougher penalties.
