UNITED STATES ATTORNEY ALICE H. MARTIN NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			CONTACT: KAREN NARAMORE
	JUNE 4, 2009			PHONE: (205) 244-2001
	www.usdoj.gov/usao/aln			FAX: (205) 244-2171

BESSEMER MAN FOUND GUILTY FOR FEDERAL WEAPONS CHARGES

BIRMINGHAM -   ALEX NATHAN MITCHELL, 27, of Bessemer, was found guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Birmingham.   MITCHELL was found guilty of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. 

            In February, 2009, a Federal grand jury returned a one count indictment charging that on or about October 24, 2007, MITCHELL, after having been previously convicted of a felony offense, possessed a Jennings Firearms, Inc., .22 caliber pistol, in violation of Federal law. 

            MITCHELL’S prior felony offenses include Aggravated Assault by Threat, Resisting an Officer with Violence, Battery and Dealing in Stolen Property by Trafficking, in the Circuit Court of Okaloosa County, Florida.  MITCHELL has also been previously convicted of Robbery, Third Degree and Unlawful Possession / Receipt of a Controlled Substance here in Jefferson County.  With this criminal history, MITCHELL is potentially facing a statutory mandatory minimum of 15 years.  MITCHELL is set to be sentenced in September before the Honorable Inge P. Johnson.   

            “I am pleased that this career criminal will be off the streets and out of our communities,” stated United States Attorney Alice H. Martin.

            On October 24, 2007, at approximately 7:20 a.m., a Bessemer Police Officer observed MITCHELL leaving a known drug house in the Pipe Shop area of Bessemer.  Minutes later, as the officer attempted to ask Mitchell for his identification information, MITCHELL became hostile. After repeated requests to see MITCHELL’S right hand, the Officer  approached MITCHELL with his weapon drawn.  At this point, MITCHELL finally dropped the Jennings Firearm to the ground, and later confessed the gun was his.
   
     This matter was investigated by Special Agents with the The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and in conjunction with the City of Bessemer Police Department. 
Special Assistant United States Attorney Amy E. DeMarco prosecuted this matter on behalf of the United States.