PORTLAND, Ore. – A convicted felon and Portland gang associate has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sid Edward Willis Jr., 34, was sentenced on December 24, 2013, after threatening a couple with a loaded .357 caliber handgun.
On May 24, 2012, at approximately 10:00 p.m., a couple drove into the Plaid Pantry parking lot located at SE 162nd and SE Division, in Portland, Oregon, to pick up a couple of things on their way home. After the male driver exited the car and went into the store, the defendant walked up to the female passenger, who was still sitting in the car, and asked her ‘why is your man mugging me.’ As he was talking to the passenger, the defendant showed her a silver handgun that he had tucked into his waistband.
Alarmed, the passenger exited the car and went into the market to tell her boyfriend what had happened and that they needed to leave. Immediately after leaving the store, the defendant called out to the male driver and stated ‘why you mugging me?’ The male driver turned to walk toward the defendant, who then pulled out his gun and pointed it directly at the male driver’s face, stating, ‘You can’t be mugging me…I’ll kill you…I’m a gangsta.’
The couple immediately left the store and called 911. Portland Police Officers responded and captured defendant Willis a short time later down the street. After defendant Willis was taken into custody, officers located a loaded .357 caliber revolver hidden in some bushes where the defendant was trying to hide from the police.
The defendant had been released from federal custody less than two months prior to this incident after serving a 10-year drug sentence. At the time of the crime, the defendant had 10 prior felony convictions, including four felony drug trafficking offenses.
U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall said, ‘When Congress enacted the Armed Career Criminal Act, it recognized that a very small percentage of repeat offenders commit a large percentage of violent or potentially violent crimes.’ The law was designed to incapacitate criminals, like the defendant, through the imposition of very lengthy prison terms in an effort to keep our community safe from our most dangerous offenders.
This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau and the Gang Enforcement Team. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin, the Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Drug Unit and former head of the Gang and Sex Trafficking Prosecution Team.
Related Federal Cases
- Gary Lee Walls, Felon Firearm Possession, Eugene OR, 2015 · Massachusetts
- Greyson Scott Lindenfelser, Felon in Possession of Stolen Firearm, … · Massachusetts
- Alehandros Medina, Felon in Possession, Massachusetts 2024 · Massachusetts
- Diana Petrovic, Drug Trafficking, D. Oregon, 2023 · Oregon
- Jerome Bradley Fletcher Sentenced for Gun Magazine Possession, Mino… · Massachusetts
Key Facts
- State: Oregon
- Category: Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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