Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm.

Bryan Abascal, 25, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Abascal was sentenced as an armed career offender due to his prior felony convictions.

On July 10, 2017, Abascal pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. When Abascal was arrested during a traffic stop, a Kansas City police officer searched his vehicle and found a Bersa .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended clip magazine loaded into it.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of a firearm or ammunition. Abascal has two prior felony convictions for sale of a controlled substance and three prior felony convictions for domestic assault.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefan C. Hughes. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

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