Clarence Minor, a 30-year-old Washington D.C. resident with a prior felony conviction, has been handed a 46-month sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentencing also includes an order for Minor to complete three years of supervised release post-incarceration, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office in a statement.
During the hearing, presided over by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, it was disclosed that Minor had been previously convicted of a gun-related crime. Reporting back to the streets after only four months of freedom, Minor unfortunately found himself crossways with the law again on June 17, 2023, as detailed in the U.S. Attorney's Office court documents.
The case against Minor unfolded when a 911 caller, disturbed by the sight of a young man tucking a handgun into his waistband, swiftly notified the police of the individual's description and whereabouts. Metropolitan Police Department officers mobilized and, mimicking the description provided, identified Minor mere minutes later, wearing the exact clothing and walking near the reported area, with a Glock19, 9mm semi-automatic handgun at his hip, underneath the very child he was carrying.
As part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, a collaborative effort between the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the ATF, Clarence Minor's arrest was the culmination of swift action by citizens and law enforcement alike. In the custody of the MPD, officers recovered the handgun, which was found loaded with one round in the chamber and ten rounds in a 31-round capacity magazine, positioning directly over the child he carried, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office court documents.
The successful prosecution of Minor was spearheaded by Assistant U.S. Attorney James B. Nelson, solidifying the shared goal among federal and local law enforcement agencies to address and suppress gun violence in the capital. The united front presented by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves alongside the MPD, under Chief Pamela Smith, starkly reflects the tenacious approach to keeping communities safer by removing firearms from the hands of those deemed unqualified to bear them.
