California Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of Firearm
COEUR D’ALENE – Donald Paul Hankey, 28, of San Jose, California, pleaded guilty today to an indictment charging him with one count of felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Hankey appeared before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
According to the indictment, on November 13, 2012, Hankey knowingly and illegally possessed a Springfield Armory 9 millimeter handgun. Hankey is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a previous felony conviction for possessing a controlled substance. The government is seeking forfeiture of the firearm.
The charge of felon in possession of a firearm is punishable by up to ten years in a prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Hankey is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24, 2013, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF). The NIVCTF members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Coeur d'Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, and the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police Department. The NIVCTF investigates a myriad of violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault and drug trafficking.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent and deter gun violence.
