Prior Felon from Albuquerque Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Possession of Stolen Firearm

ALBUQUERQUE – Charles Brown, 61, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning to eight years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing a stolen firearm and ammunition. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and Thomas G. Atteberry, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Brown was indicted in Oct. 2011, and was charged with two counts of the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition on Dec. 20, 2010 and on June 14, 2011 in Bernalillo County, N.M. On both dates, Brown was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of the following felony offenses in Second Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico: (1) robbery in May 1972; (2) residential burglary in June 1978; (3) residential burglary and larceny in Feb. 1978; (4) receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle in Dec. 1980; (5) receiving stolen property in Dec. 1980; (6) receiving stolen property in Jan. 1990; (7) heroin trafficking in Dec. 1995. He also was convicted of (8) burglary of a dwelling and conspiracy to commit burglary of a dwelling in Jan. 1996, in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico; and (9) endangerment in Aug. 2003, in the Arizona Superior Court, Pima County.

Brown was arrested on Oct. 13, 2011, and has been in federal custody since that time. On Aug. 1, 2012, Brown pled guilty to a criminal information charging him with possession of a stolen firearm on June 14, 2011. The plea agreement required Brown to forfeit the firearms and ammunition that were in his possession on Dec. 20, 2010 and June 14 2011.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis E. Valencia.