Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Alexander Monday Coleman, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 16 years in federal prison without parole. Coleman was sentenced as an armed career offender due to his prior felony convictions. 

On Nov. 13, 2018, Coleman pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Springfield police officers found a loaded KAHR Arms 9mm pistol in Coleman’s coat pocket when they searched him during a traffic stop on Jan. 26, 2017. Coleman was a passenger in the vehicle in which other individuals were in possession of illegal drugs, a scale, and drug paraphernalia.

According to court documents, Coleman was a former known member of the Grape Street Crips gang with a lengthy criminal history.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Coleman has prior felony convictions for assault (as well as multiple misdemeanor convictions for assault), possession of a controlled substance, possession of cocaine for resale, theft of property, unlawful possession of a firearm, grand theft of a motor vehicle, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and delivery or manufacture of an imitation controlled substance. Coleman was on parole at the time of this federal offense.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.