POCATELLO – Robert Frank Sorrell, Jr., 38, of Fort Hall, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Pocatello to being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, on October 31, 2011, Sorrell was taken into custody by Fort Hall police at his residence on the Shoshone-Bannock Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Following Sorrell's arrest, a search warrant was executed at the residence, where police officers discovered four firearms, including a Remington .22 caliber rifle, a Ruger .357 caliber revolver, a Winchester .22 caliber rifle, and a Stevens 12-gauge shotgun; three of the firearms did not have serial numbers. Sorrell was interviewed by Fort Hall police on November 1, 2011, where he admitted to illegally possessing the firearms. Because Sorrell was previously convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, he is prohibited from possessing firearms. Sorrell was convicted in 2006 of possessing methamphetamine, a controlled substance, in Bannock County, Idaho. As part of his plea, Sorrell agreed to forfeit the firearms found in his possession.

The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years supervised release.

Sentencing is set for October 15, 2012, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department.

The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.