An Orange, Texas convicted felon has been sentenced to federal prison for a firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Robert Milton Riley, 40, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on October 3, 2024.
According to information presented in court, on August 18, 2023, Riley took a pistol to K&C Pawn Shop in Orange where he pawned the firearm and was paid in cash. Video surveillance from the store recorded the transaction. Afterwards, local law enforcement received information that the firearm Riley sold to the pawn shop had been reported stolen in Orange in 2021. Law enforcement visited Riley at his residence in Orange where he admitted to pawning the firearm and acknowledged that he was a convicted felon and currently on federal supervised release. The investigation revealed Riley had been previously convicted of aggravated robbery in 2002 and felony evading arrest or detention in 2012, both in state district court in Orange County. Riley was also on federal supervised release for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person from 2019 in the Eastern District of Texas. As a convicted felon, Riley is prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Quinn.
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