Southern Maine Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

A 29-year-old Portland man was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

Okot pled guilty on March 29, 2017. Court records revealed that on November 16, 2015, Okot discharged a Springfield Armory USA Model SA XD-9 subcompact handgun 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 found hiding on a nearby third-story porch.  The firearm used in the shooting was found in the vehicle. Okot was prohibited from possessing the firearm because of a 2011 conviction for felony murder.

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.