Anne Arundel County Man Exiled to 7 Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Gun
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Keith Irving Eldridge, age 30, of Hanover, Maryland, today to seven years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Frank Weathersbee; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.
“The alliance between ATF and local law enforcement strengthens our mission to impact violent crime,” says ATF Special Agent in Charge Theresa Stoop.
“This sentencing is a sign of the strong partnership that exists between ATF and the Anne Arundel County Police Department. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the person who notified the police of the situation. Citizens who care enough to get involved make a difference. By providing such valuable information, we were able to exile a career offender from the streets of Anne Arundel County.”
According to Eldridge’s plea agreement, on September 13, 2009, the Anne Arundel County Police Department (“AAPD”) received a tip that a man named Keith, who was in the area of Stillmeadows Drive and Parham Court, had a gun in his pants. The area is well-known to the police department for narcotics activity, gun-related incidents, and other violence. The caller provided a description of “Keith,” and while the caller was on the telephone with 911, indicated that “Keith” was last seen heading towards Parham Court.
A police officer arrived at the location provided by the caller and saw a man who matched the description provided by the caller, pushing a tricycle eastbound on Jacobs Drive near Stillmeadows Drive. No one else was observed in the area. The officer ordered the man to place his hands on the hood of the police car and asked for his name. The man responded, “Keith,” later identified as Keith Irving Eldridge. As Eldridge leaned forward to place his hands on the hood of the patrol car, the police officer saw the outline of a handgun in the right front pocket of Eldridge’s sweatshirt and as he got closer to Eldridge, could see the rear slide and hammer of a dark colored semi-automatic handgun. The officer recovered the gun, a Beretta, model 21A, .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and arrested Eldridge. Eldridge had previous convictions for resisting arrest and armed robbery and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Anne Arundel County Police Department and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorney John W. Sippel, who prosecuted the case.
