2 Convicted Felons In Maine Courts For Illegally Possessing Guns

A Maine man and another from California were in Maine courtrooms this week on firearms charges.

A California Man Convicted a Couple to Make Straw Purchases of Firearms

Lonnel Diggs, who's also known as 'Cash or 'Cashiioso Runzitup,' 40, of Van Nuys, California pleaded guilty in a Portland courtroom on Monday to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Court documents state that Diggs used the promise of money and crack cocaine to lure a couple into making 'straw purchases' of firearms. A straw purchase is when an individual tells the gun dealer that they're buying the firearm for themselves when, in fact, they're purchasing it for a third party. After Diggs was convicted in California in 2003 for robbery, and for assault with a dangerous weapon on a peace officer in 2010, he was forbidden from owning firearms.

Diggs Convinced a Couple to Travel to Gun Shows to Buy Firearms

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Maine, Diggs, and his accomplice would take photos of the firearms they wanted at a gun show and text the images to the couple, who then bought the firearms. Diggs faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Any sentence would then be followed by three years of supervised release.

A Convicted Felon From Portland Fired Shots in the Air From an Illegal Gun

In a separate case, Mohamud Abdullahi, 31, of Portland pleaded guilty on Monday to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Abdullahi was accused of pulling a firearm from his waistband and firing two shots in the area near Commercial and Cross Streets in Portland in November 2023. He was apprehended after a 911 caller described his vehicle and it was intercepted as it crossed the bridge into South Portland. The firearm used in the crime was recovered from the front lawn of a residence near where police stopped the vehicle.

Abdullahi is forbidden from possessing firearms after convictions in Cumberland County Superior Court for assault and aggravated criminal trespass in 2017 and unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs in 2011. He now faces up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Any sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Both cases were heard in courtrooms in Portland, Maine.