New Gloucester Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing a Handgun

PORTLAND, Maine: A New Gloucester man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, officers with the Scarborough Police Department responded to a tip that Shawn Small, 29, was attempting to sell a pistol to another individual. Officers then located Small at a business in Scarborough. They approached and attempted to detain him. He physically resisted. During the ensuing struggle, a pack was removed from his person. Inside that pack, officers located a Smith & Wesson pistol with a loaded magazine. Small was a convicted felon at the time and on probation for a state robbery conviction.

Small faces up to 15 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case, with the assistance of the Scarborough Police Department.

Operation Take Back America: This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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