Lexington Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington man, who previously admitted to being a felon in possession of a firearm, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison.  This term has also been ordered to run consecutively to pending state court sentences.           

Chief U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell sentenced Antoine Lamar Burns, 36 years old, for unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.           

Burns previously admitted that, beginning in June 2015 and continuing through October 2015, he possessed a Bersa .380 semiautomatic pistol, after having been convicted of a felony offense.  According to the plea agreement, Burns fired several shots at someone he suspected was cooperating with law enforcement, threatened and pointed the firearm at a former girlfriend, attempted to have his girlfriend make a false statement about ownership of the firearm, and attempted to hide the firearm in his girlfriend’s vehicle.  Burns pleaded guilty in February.           

Under federal law, Burns must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge, ATF; and Lawrence Weathers, Chief of the Lexington Division of Police, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by ATF and Lexington Police. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron L. Walker, Jr.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.