Oakland Resident Sentenced To Over Seven Years In Prison For Being A Felon In Possession Of A Firearm

OAKLAND – Antwon Graham was sentenced to 92 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and for various violations of the conditions of his supervised release, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.  The sentence was handed down today by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, United States District Judge.  

On May 30, 2017, Graham, 28, of Oakland, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Graham was arrested by Oakland Police Department Officers on December 7, 2016.  As part of his plea agreement, Graham admitted that on that date he had a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his waistband and a 31-round capacity magazine in his pocket.  In addition, Graham admitted that two months earlier, on October 12, 2016, he was approached by Burlingame Police Department officers when he was at a go cart company in Burlingame.  Graham acknowledged that on that occasion, he was in possession of two loaded pistols he was carrying in two backpacks.  Graham abandoned the backpacks and fled the scene, allowing the police officers to recover the backpacks and the firearms.  On January 31, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Graham, charging him with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).  Pursuant to his plea agreement, Graham pleaded guilty to one count.

In addition to the facts underlying the felon in possession charge, as part of his plea agreement, Graham admitted he committed several violations of the conditions of his supervised release resulting from a previous case.  Specifically, Graham admitted that he possessed firearms on December 7 and October 12, 2016; that he used a fraudulent credit card on September 3, 2016; that he associated with persons he knew were felons on October 12, 2016; and that he failed to report within 72 hours after October 12, 2016, that he had been questioned by law enforcement officers.   

Judge White sentenced Graham to 80 months of imprisonment for one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced Graham to an additional 12 months of imprisonment for the supervised release violations.  In addition to the prison term, Judge White imposed a three-year period of supervised release that will commence after Graham completes his prison sentence.  The conditions of his supervised release include a condition that prohibits Graham from associating with members of the Ghost Town criminal street gang.  The defendant was remanded to federal custody and will begin serving his sentence immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Joiner is prosecuting the case with assistance from Lance Libatique.  The prosecution is the result of investigations by the FBI, ATF, Oakland Police Department, and Burlingame Police Department.