Traffic Stop Leads to Convicted Felon Being Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for the Illegal Possession of Firearms

United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Chief United States District Court Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Anthony Letom McCann on June 29, 2018 to serve a term of imprisonment of 18 months followed by 3 years of supervised release for illegally possessing two firearms. The defendant possessed the firearms in Mobile, Alabama on May 18, 2017 in violation of 18 USC § 922(g)(1). The defendant entered a guilty plea before the Court on March 22, 2018.

On the date of incident, a trooper with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) initiated a traffic stop of the defendant’s vehicle for speeding after the trooper observed the defendant traveling 73mph in a 55mph zone. During the traffic stop, the trooper asked the defendant if there were any weapons in the vehicle. The defendant did not answer right away and did not make eye contact with the trooper. The defendant’s hesitation made the trooper suspicious and the defendant was asked to exit the vehicle. After exiting the vehicle, the defendant admitted that there was a firearm between the front seats. A search of the vehicle was conducted and the authorities located a Norinco, Model 54-1, 9 mm pistol between the front seats and a Ruger, Model AR-556, 5.56 mm rifle in the trunk of the vehicle. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Safe Streets Task Force, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Lawrence J. Bullard for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.