DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of Alabama

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Kenyen R. Brown
, United States Attorney
Contact: Tommy Loftis

Man Sentenced in Federal Court on Gun Charges

MOBILE, Ala. – Daniel Williams, 36, of Marion, Alabama, was sentenced in federal court on gun charges. Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm by a person who had been committed to a mental institution, and court documents showed that Williams had been committed by an Alabama state judicial officer to a mental institution on two separate occasions. Court documents also showed that he was found in possession of an AK 47 rifle and a 9 millimeter handgun in March of 2013 when Marion police officers searched his vehicle in connection with a shooting that occurred in Marion. Williams admitted to state investigators and to a special agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he had his girlfriend buy the AK 47 for him because he was not able to buy it himself. Williams also admitted that he knew he could not possess the weapons legally.

United States District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade imposed a sentence of 24 months imprisonment in the case, and ordered that Williams undergo mental health counseling and treatment while he is incarcerated. She also ordered that he undergo additional mental health treatment during a three-year term of supervised release, which will commence when Williams is released from prison. She further ordered that he be monitored for drug abuse during his supervision. No fine was imposed in Williams’ case, but he was ordered to pay $100 in special assessments.

The case was investigated by the 4th Judicial Circuit Task Force, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Marion Police Department, the Alabama Bureau of Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney=s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

Nashville Field Division