Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Charge

A 28-year-old Portland man entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court Wednesday to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Court records revealed that on November 16, 2015, Moses Okot discharged a firearm in Portland’s Old Port district, striking two people standing on the sidewalk.  Okot fled from the scene of the shooting in a vehicle.  A Portland Police Officer followed the vehicle to a residence in Portland.  Okot was later found hiding on a nearby third-story porch.  The firearm used in the shooting was found in the vehicle.

At the time of the shooting, Okot was on state probation as a result of a 2011 conviction for felony murder. He was therefore prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms.

Okot faces a period of imprisonment of up to ten years and a fine of up to $250,000.  However, the plea agreement in this case calls for imposition of a ten-year sentence to be served consecutively to a probation revocation sentence imposed in state court.

The investigation was conducted by the Portland Police Department and the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the Portland, South Portland, and Lewiston Police Departments.