Wednesday, a federal jury in North Alabama convicted a Bessemer man, of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
United States Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson announced the guilty verdict in a statement on Thursday.
Antonio Demetrius Rogers is 45 years old. The jury returned its guilty verdict against Mr. Rogers after a single day of testimony before U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler.
“Felons who possess firearms pose a threat to the safety and security of our community,” Town said. “It continues to be among my highest priorities to remove trigger pullers and felons with guns to federal court and federal prison. We have an abundance of bed-space complimented by an absence of parole.”
“ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers are the driving force to reduce the violent crime that plagues our neighborhoods,” said Watson. “This sentencing illustrate the effective partnerships with law enforcement and the community.”
At trial federal prosecutors showed evidence that the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force (GCRFTF) sought Rogers on a federal arrest warrant in August 2018. Agents with the GCRFTF went to two houses in Bessemer simultaneously the morning of August 23, 2018. One of the occupants of the house, where Rogers was located, answered the door and told law enforcement officers that Rogers was inside. After getting the other occupants out of the house, agents continued to call out to Rogers, telling him the police were there with an arrest warrant, and that he should come out. Rogers did not come out until an investigator broke the window of the back bedroom and saw Rogers. Rogers was then taken into custody. A deputy U.S. Marshal found a loaded revolver on the floor of the bedroom that Rogers had been in, and confirmed with the investigator, who broke the window, that Rogers had been standing where the revolver was found.
The maximum penalty for being a felon in possession of a firearm is ten years in prison.
Rogers has previous felony convictions for receiving stolen property in the first degree; escape in the first degree; and manslaughter.
The ATF investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Geer and Brittney Bucak.
Judge Coogler will announce Rogers’ sentence at a future date.
