A 39-year-old Oklahoma City man has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after admitting he stole roughly 2,000 rounds of ammunition from local sporting goods stores and possessed ammunition despite a string of prior felony convictions. Robert Alexander Pitts hid the rounds in his pants pockets, hoodie pockets, and waistband during the thefts, according to public records cited in the case.
The sentence stems from a federal case announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which confirmed Pitts was sentenced to serve 37 months in federal prison for possession of ammunition after a previous felony conviction and possession of stolen ammunition. According to public records, Pitts stole the ammunition from Bass Pro and Cabela's stores in Oklahoma City in September 2025.
A Pattern of Prior Convictions
Pitts was not a first-time offender. As reported by KOKH, Oklahoma County District Court records show Pitts had previous felony convictions for attempted larceny of merchandise, larceny of merchandise from a retailer, false declaration of ownership to a pawnbroker, possession of cocaine and marijuana, and felon in possession of a firearm.
Federal law prohibits convicted felons from owning ammunition, a restriction the court record references directly. That prohibition became central to the case once investigators connected Pitts to the thefts from the sporting goods retailers.
From Investigation to Guilty Plea
The case was investigated by Oklahoma City police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the station's report notes. A federal grand jury charged Pitts on December 16, 2025, with being a felon in possession of ammunition and possession of stolen ammunition.
Pitts pleaded guilty to the charges on April 13, 2026. At that time, he admitted he knowingly possessed stolen ammunition and possessed ammunition despite his previous convictions, according to the same account.
Separate Case Shows Similar Charges
Pitts's case is not the only one of its kind to come out of the same U.S. Attorney's Office. In a separate 2020 case, Michael Lee Oliver, 33, of Lawton, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison for illegally possessing ammunition after a prior felony conviction, according to a Department of Justice announcement. That case involved a different defendant and is not evidence of how Pitts's sentence compares to a broader pattern.
Federal statute, specifically 18 U.S.C. § 922, governs who may lawfully possess ammunition. Separate provisions in that same federal code, maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, address how ammunition transferred to a juvenile — defined as someone younger than 18 — must be handled, specifying it is not subject to permanent government confiscation and must be returned to its lawful owner once no longer needed for investigation or prosecution.
