Auburn Man Sentenced to Almost Five Years for Possessing a Firearm after Being Convicted of a Domestic Violence Misdemeanor

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Willie Richard Minor, 58, of Auburn, Maine, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.  Minor was convicted on December 13, 2017, following a two-day jury trial. 

Court records and trial evidence revealed that on June 14, 2010, Minor was convicted in Maine Superior Court for assaulting his wife at the time.  As a result of that misdemeanor conviction, the defendant was prohibited from possessing firearms.  On November 27, 2016, the defendant admitted to a detective with the Auburn Police Department that he had a gun and kept it in his apartment.  The police subsequently searched his apartment and seized a loaded .38 caliber pistol.  At sentencing, the Court found that Minor was subject to an enhanced sentence because he used the pistol to assault another person.

The investigation was conducted by the Auburn and Mechanic Falls Police Departments; the Maine State Police Crime Lab; the FBI; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.