Mark William Elliot, Felon in Possession of Firearm, New Mexico 2016

ALBUQUERQUE – A Raton man has pleaded guilty to violating federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.

Mark William Elliot, 46, of Raton, entered the guilty plea under a conditional plea agreement that permits him to withdraw his guilty plea if he is successful in challenging a court order denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from him when he was arrested, which included a firearm and ammunition.

Elliot was arrested in July 2016, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on March 25, 2016, in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.

According to the indictment, Elliot was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of five counts of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, tampering with evidence, forgery, and shooting at an occupied building.

On March 25, 2016, Albuquerque Police officers found Elliot asleep on the sidewalk next to his motorcycle, which was illegally parked in the road next to a stop sign.

After waking Elliot, the officers observed a bulge in Elliot’s right front pocket. When the officers realized there was a firearm in Elliot’s pocket, Elliot attempted to flee, ran into an APD officer, and was arrested.

APD officers recovered a loaded firearm and ammunition, approximately 18 grams of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia from Elliot’s jacket during a search incident to his arrest.

At sentencing, Elliot faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and APD and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo.

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