Gulfport Man Sentenced to Almost Nine Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Gulfport, Miss. – Tony D. Crawford, 24, of Gulfport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden today to serve 105 months in federal prison followed by three years supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

Crawford pled guilty on April 20, 2017, to possession of a Ruger 9 mm pistol, a Drago, 7.62 caliber pistol, a Taurus 9 mm pistol, and a Hi-Point .45 caliber rifle. He admitted that he unlawfully possessed at least some of the firearms when he was conducting narcotics trafficking.

Crawford had purchased three of the firearms through straw purchasers, that is, people without felony criminal records who purchased one or more firearms from a legal firearms dealer and then resold to Crawford.

One of those straw purchasers, Isaac Q. Coleman, pled guilty to knowingly making a false statement in connection with the purchase of a firearm. Following his guilty plea and conviction, Coleman was sentenced by Judge Ozerden to serve seven months in federal prison and five months of home confinement, followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $3,500.00 fine.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, along with the City of Biloxi, City of D’Iberville, City of Gulfport and City of Pass Christian Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris.