Colorado Springs Convict Arrested Three Days After Getting Out Of Prison For Possessing Sawed-off Shotgun

DENVER – Anthony Ishmael Medina, age 20, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson to serve 51 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Denver Special Agent in Charge Luke Franey announced.  Following his prison sentence, Judge Jackson ordered Medina to serve 3 years on supervised release.  The defendant appeared in custody, and was remanded immediately following the sentencing hearing.

Medina was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 25, 2013.  He pled guilty before Judge Jackson on November 21, 2013.  He was sentenced on Tuesday, April 22, 2014. 

According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on July 22, 2013, state parole officers went to Medina’s home in Colorado Springs.  The defendant had been convicted on March 9, 2012 of Vehicular Assault – DUI, a class 4 felony, in El Paso County, Colorado.  He was sentenced to serve two years in prison.  Medina had been released from prison only three days prior to the search, as he was beginning his term of parole.  During a search of the residence, parole officers found a JC Higgins, model 20, 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun in Medina’s bedroom closet.  Colorado Springs Police officers and ATF agents later determined that Medina admitted to possessing the weapon, and that he couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it.  During the sentencing hearing it was revealed that Medina was an admitted member of the “Los Meadows Varrios” street gang, which is affiliated with the Surenos. 

“The defendant was out of prison for only three days before being found with a sawed-off shotgun,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.  “Instead of getting rid of the weapon in a lawful way, he decided to keep it.  The result is he will now have to serve 51 months in prison for possessing that firearm for three days.”

“Not only was this individual a convicted felon, but he was also in possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun,” said Denver ATF Special Agent in Charge Luke Franey.  “Protecting the public by holding convicted felons accountable for their actions will remain a top priority for ATF.”

This case was investigated by the Colorado Division of Parole, the Colorado Springs Police Department, and the ATF.

Medina was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hosley, Chief of the Major Crimes Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado.