Dallas County Man Sentenced to 18 Months for Possession of a Firearm After Conviction of a Felony
United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Dontaveous Benjamin, a 28 year old resident of Selma, Alabama was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration for possession of three pistols after felony conviction for possession of marijuana.
On May 17, 2019, Benjamin pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement and admitted in Court that on January 17, 2019, Selma, Alabama police officers went to the home of Benjamin’s paramour to execute an arrest warrant for Benjamin after charges were filed against him for shooting into an unoccupied residence. Upon arrival at the residence, officers made contact with Benjamin and his paramour. Benjamin was arrested without incident. Officers then asked his paramour for consent to search her residence and she provided written consent. During the consent search, officers seized three firearms found in and on top of a dresser in the living room. The firearms are described as a Hi-Point, CF380, .380 caliber pistol, a Talon Industries, model T200, 9mm pistol, and a Taurus, model 80, .38 caliber revolver. Benjamin gave a post arrest Mirandized statement. He stated that, “those guns were inside my granddad’s house. I think one of them belonged to a cousin . . .” Benjamin also stated that the revolved was given to him two months ago be someone who wanted to keep it from the police. Benjamin made several additional statements relating to the firearms.
At that time, Benjamin had been convicted of a felony, namely, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana 1st on February 14, 2013, in the Circuit Court of Dallas County, Alabama, case number CC-2012-00277.
Officers of the Selma, AL Police Department and special agents of the ATF investigated the case and brought it to the U. S. Attorney's Office for prosecution. The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant United States Attorney, Gina S. Vann.
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