Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 12, 2013 |
PHILADELPHIA—Curtis Crawford, 40, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm. Due to his extensive criminal record of drug trafficking, Crawford qualified under the law as an armed career criminal at sentencing, which requires a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison. Crawford was convicted at trial on July 11, 2013. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Savage ordered a $1,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and five years of supervised release.
On August 22, 2012, shortly after midnight, Philadelphia Police officers approached Crawford near the intersection of 9th and Butler Streets to ask him some questions about criminal activity that had occurred in that neighborhood. When the officers approached, Crawford ran and discarded a loaded Walther P22 firearm with a laser sight into a nearby sewer inlet. The police officers apprehended Crawford after a short chase and, with the assistance of the Philadelphia Streets Department, fished the firearm out of the sewer inlet.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Philadelphia Police and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Livermore.