Wilmington Resident Sentenced for Possession of Firearms After Threats in Alamance County

GREENSBORO – A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 3-1/2 years in prison, after pleading guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina (MDNC).

CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL CAULDER, age 30, of Wilmington, North Carolina, was sentenced to a 42-month term of imprisonment by the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the MDNC. He pleaded guilty on April 2, 2024, to felon in possession of a firearm, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).

According to court records, on November 7, 2022, Deputies with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call that Christopher Michael CAULDER was making suicidal and homicidal threats. When Deputies responded to the scene and spoke with CAULDER’s mother, they learned that CAULDER had a safe in the basement which contained multiple firearms and a large amount of ammunition, which he brought there from his residence in Wilmington, NC. A search warrant was applied for and granted by a state magistrate. During execution of the search warrant, investigators recovered 23 firearms, several thousand rounds of various calibers of ammunition, hundreds of magazines (some still in boxes with CAULDER’s name on the shipping labels), body armor, firearm accessories, and multiple incomplete firearm receivers (aka ghost guns). Three of the rifles recovered had barrels shorter than 16 inches. One of the rifles appeared to have a hole drilled for the installation of a fully automatic trigger system. While being interviewed, CAULDER made statements indicating he was attempting to make a machine gun.

At the time of these offenses, CAULDER had been previously convicted of Discharging a Weapon into Occupied Property (Alamance County, 2019) and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding one year. Thus, at the time of the instant offense, CAULDER was legally barred from possessing a firearm due to his status as a felon.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives and the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tracy M. Williams-Durham.

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