Convicted Felon Sentenced to More than Six Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A convicted felon has been sentenced for illegally possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.

U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala sentenced John Henry Edmondson, 29, of Shelby, Alabama, to 75 months in prison. In April, Edmondson pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm.

According to the plea agreement, on June 30, 2024, a deputy with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) conducted a welfare check on a minor who was at Edmondson’s residence.  Edmondson refused to let the deputy in the house.  The next day, SCSO deputies and Edmondson’s parole officer returned to the house with a juvenile pick-up order for the minor.  While inside the residence recovering the minor, deputies seized two pistols and drug paraphernalia. A SCSO deputy obtained a state search warrant for the residence.  Deputies seized a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun, 12-gauge shotgun shells, camouflage body armor, suspected narcotics, and drug paraphernalia. Edmondson is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior felony convictions in the District Court of Shelby County, Alabama.  Specifically, in May 2021, Edmondson pleaded guilty to Domestic Violence by Suffocation or Strangulation and Certain Persons Forbidden to Possess a Pistol. And in August 2022, he pleaded guilty to Unlawful Distribution of a Controlled Substance.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case along with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted the case.