Charles Frederick Austin, Jr., Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Alabama 2023

A 44-year-old convicted felon has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm.

Charles Frederick Austin, Jr., of Birmingham, Alabama, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala on 2023-02-xx after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in February.

The incident occurred on 2023-10-22 when officers with the Birmingham Police Department responded to a Shot Spotter call in the Gate City Community.

According to court documents, a shootout had taken place on 67th Street South, and officers arrived to find Austin walking quickly down the street, with something in his waistband that appeared consistent with a firearm.

An officer noticed the item and contacted Austin, retrieving a Canik 9mm firearm from his waistband and arresting him.

Austin is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to multiple prior felony convictions, including three in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County and one in the Circuit Court of Shelby County, between 2005 and 2021.

Austin also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in two separate cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in May 2008 and February 2013.

The ATF and the Birmingham Police Department investigated the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A Keown, Sr., and John G. Camp prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndal/pr/convicted-felon-sentenced-illegally-possessing-firearm