Felon Gets 42 Months for Possessing Pistol
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that Cedric Rice, 40, of Grand Rapids, was sentenced to serve 42 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney also imposed a period of supervised release of 3 years to follow.
On April 8, 2019, Grand Rapids Police responded to a 911 call that Rice had pointed a gun at a woman and her mother. When police stopped the car carrying Rice, he jumped out and fled on foot. As he ran between houses, Rice dropped a cell phone and hid a .40 caliber Sig-Sauer pistol in a woodpile. He then ducked into a home, changed his clothes, and denied being the person with the gun. In November 2019, Rice pleaded guilty and admitted to possessing the gun.
Rice has an extensive criminal history that began in 1999 with illegally carrying a firearm in Chicago. In 2000, he was convicted of delivering cocaine. He was convicted of assault in 2002, and hindering and resisting police in 2002 and 2003. In 2007, Rice was convicted in federal court and sentenced to serve 106 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possessing a firearm while facing federal charges. In 2017, he was convicted of domestic violence. In sentencing Rice to 42 months’ custody, Judge Maloney expressed concern for Rice’s dangerous conduct and history of illegally possessing guns.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru and investigated by the Grand Rapids Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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