Felon Convicted In Federal Court of Unlawfully Possessing Firearm

POCATELLO - Frank Lewis White, 55, of Great Falls, Montana, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury in Pocatello of unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

During the three-day trial, the jury heard evidence that when White was pulled over and arrested on October 4, 2014, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for outstanding warrants, he had under his seat a loaded handgun.  Upon being instructed to exit his car, White told officers the gun was under his seat.  According to trial testimony, the gun had been in White’s car since the day before, when White had driven another individual to a pawn shop to retrieve the gun.

White faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for November 2, 2015, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Idaho Falls Police Department, and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office Laboratory.

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