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Press Release

Huntsville Man Arrested of Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Alabama

BIRMINGHAM – Federal agents today arrested the father of a Huntsville second-grader who was accidentally shot after taking a gun to school and showing it to a friend in a restroom at Blossomwood Elementary School in Huntsville, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

 

ATF arrested LETROY COLE JR., 41, on the federal charge of being a convicted felon in possession of firearm. A federal grand jury returned the indictment against Cole on Sept. 26. The indictment charges that Cole possessed a Kel Tec model P-32 .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Sept. 17 in Madison County. He previously was convicted of felony possession of narcotics in circuit court in Cook County, Ill., in 1995, and of possession of a pistol by a felon in Cook County Circuit Court in February 2002, according to the indictment.

 

“Convicted felons who possess firearms will soon possess bed space in a federal prison,” Town said. “In this case, a federal grand jury returned a federal indictment with that will be presented in federal court and, upon conviction, a federal judge will impose a prison sentence that will not provide the sanctuary of parole.”

 

ATF Special Agent in Charge, Marcus Watson said. “ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Centers are the driving force to reduce the potential for violent crime and disrupting the shooting cycle that plagues our neighborhoods, to include firearms recovered in the school systems.”

 

The maximum penalty for federal charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

 

ATF investigated the case, in partnership with the Huntsville Police Department and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Becher Sr. is prosecuting. 

An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

 

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Updated October 1, 2018