Bobby Amos, Gun Possession After Felony Convictions, AL 2024

Bobby Amos, a 39-year-old man from Foley, Alabama, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm after being convicted of multiple felonies as a juvenile. The sentence, handed down in federal court, marks the latest chapter in a long pattern of violent and self-destructive behavior that culminated in a disturbing confrontation at a local church.

On May 4, 2017, Foley police responded to a disturbance call at a church where Amos was ranting and openly demanding officers shoot him. The scene quickly turned tense when his common law wife arrived and disclosed to officers that she had witnessed Amos holding a .380 caliber Bersa pistol to his head earlier that day. She claimed she disarmed him and hid the weapon inside the church—afraid he would follow her and retrieve it. Officers recovered the firearm exactly where she said it would be.

Amos was initially arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication, but federal prosecutors swiftly moved to charge him under federal law prohibiting felons from possessing firearms. Despite the convictions stemming from robberies committed when he was a juvenile, federal statutes still classify him as a prohibited possessor—making the gun charge a serious federal offense.

On November 7, 2017, Amos pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The plea came after a joint investigation by the Foley Police Department and local task force officers assigned to the FBI’s Violent Crime Unit. Evidence, including witness testimony and the recovery of the Bersa pistol, left little room for defense.

Assistant United States Attorney Gina S. Vann prosecuted the case, emphasizing Amos’s history and the danger posed by allowing a volatile individual access to weapons. U.S. Attorney Richard W. Moore affirmed the prosecution’s stance: “A felon with a gun is a threat to public safety. Period.”

Amos will serve 36 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. The case underscores the federal government’s aggressive enforcement of firearms restrictions for those with criminal histories—even when those convictions date back decades and began in youth.