Felix Wilson, Felon in Possession of Firearm, NY 2024

Felix Wilson, 35, of Portsmouth, NH, pleaded guilty today to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon—a charge that puts him on the hook for up to 10 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine. The admission came during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara in Buffalo, New York.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Higgins, who is prosecuting the case, Wilson was spotted riding a bicycle on East Ferry Street in Buffalo on August 22, 2013—armed with a .22 caliber revolver tucked on his person. Police moved fast, arresting him at the scene and recovering the loaded weapon.

Wilson’s criminal history sealed his fate. In May 2011, he was convicted of Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree in Erie County Supreme Court—a felony conviction that strips him of the legal right to possess any firearm. Despite that, he was caught three years later with a live gun in a public neighborhood.

The probe that led to his guilty plea was a joint operation between the Buffalo Police Department, under Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, who oversees the New York Field Division, directed the federal side of the investigation.

Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced the plea as part of a broader push to crack down on illegal gun possession in Western New York. “A felony conviction means you forfeit the right to carry a weapon,” Kennedy stated. “When we catch individuals like Wilson violating that law, we’re charging them to the fullest extent.”

Sentencing is set for March 9, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara. With a maximum penalty looming, Wilson now faces a stark choice: how much of the next decade he’ll spend locked down for carrying a gun he wasn’t legally allowed to touch.