SALLISAW, OK – Bobby Laymone Sanders, 63, of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, is facing federal sentencing after admitting to illegally possessing a handgun and ammunition. Sanders pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a charge stemming from an April 2023 incident.
According to court documents, Sanders was found to be in possession of a Hi-Point JCP, .40 S&W caliber semi-automatic pistol, along with two rounds of ammunition. The firearm had traveled across state lines, making the case a federal matter. Crucially, Sanders knew he was prohibited from owning either the gun or the ammo due to a prior felony conviction – a conviction for a crime punishable by more than a year in prison.
The bust wasn’t a random stop. Investigators with the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were already on Sanders’s case. Details of the initial investigation haven’t been released, but the evidence clearly pointed to Sanders knowingly violating federal law.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason A. Robertson accepted the guilty plea in Muskogee. Sanders remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals while awaiting a presentence investigation report, which will detail his criminal history and other factors considered during sentencing. The length of the sentence remains undetermined.
Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Cameron McEwen is prosecuting the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The Department of Justice has made no comment beyond the official press release. This case underscores the ongoing federal effort to keep firearms out of the hands of convicted felons, a key component of broader violent crime reduction strategies.
Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on the sentencing. The Eastern District of Oklahoma has seen a rise in federal firearms offenses in recent years, prompting increased collaboration between federal and tribal law enforcement agencies. Sanders’s plea is the latest in a string of convictions aimed at curbing illegal gun trafficking and possession within the region.
Related Federal Cases
- Bobby Von Rogers, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, OK 2019 · Oklahoma
- Michael Jason Sanders, Felony Firearm Possession, Oklahoma 2024 · Oklahoma
- Kenneth Edward Day, Felon in Possession of Firearm, Muskogee OK, 2023 · Oklahoma
- David Arriaga, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Omaha NE, 2016 · Oklahoma
- Richard Dale Henry, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, OK 2016 · Oklahoma
Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
WeaponsWeaponsWeaponsWeapons