Anthony Alex Howard, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Idaho 2020

BOISE, Idaho – Boise man Anthony Alex Howard, 32, has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for the unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to court records, on October 10, 2020, a police officer attempted to contact Anthony Alex Howard after observing him drive away from a known drug house and subsequently commit a traffic violation.

Howard was outside his vehicle when the officer contacted him and was wearing a gray satchel. Howard refused to obey commands from the officer and a physical struggle ensued. Howard broke free from the officer and fled on foot.

Shortly after, Howard was located and arrested by other officers. Officers located the gray satchel in a nearby yard. Inside, officers found a stolen .45 caliber pistol.

At the location where the officer initially contacted Howard, officers found another stolen .45 caliber pistol. Howard is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior federal firearms conviction for possessing stolen firearms.

Howard was on state probation at the time of the offense.

Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Howard to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Howard pleaded guilty to the charges on September 16, 2021. Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Boise Police Department, which led to charges.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the 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.

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