By Staff
Alabama Political Reporter
Thursday, November 16, 2017 U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin Sr. announced that Keyon Montez Butler (24) of Montgomery, Alabama was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Federal law prohibits a person convicted of a felony from possessing firearms or ammunition. Butler was found guilty of the charge after a trial that took place in June 2017.
At trial, the jury heard testimony that Butler and a co-defendant, Demarcus Cordarious Parker, 25, were both convicted felons who possessed firearms that they intended to sell.
According to Franklin, during an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Montgomery Police Department, Parker made multiple gun sales to undercover law enforcement agents in August of 2016. ATF also discovered that Butler had placed an advertisement for the sale of a firearm on Facebook and they arranged to meet him at Oak Park in Montgomery to make the purchase. Butler drove to Oak Park in an SUV with Parker in the passenger seat. In the vehicle, Butler had possession of a .40 caliber pistol and sold it to law enforcement who were working undercover.
Butler received such a lengthy sentence for this conviction due to his significant criminal history, which included prior convictions of robbery in the first degree, possession of a controlled substance, and felony murder.
Following his sentence of 10 years in prison, Butler will be subject to 3 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Demarcus Parker pled guilty to his charges in June and will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Franklin thanked, “The ATF Montgomery Field Office and the Montgomery Police Department for investigating this case and for combating the illegal sale of guns on our streets.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Denise O. Simpson.
