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District resident John Michael Wilcox, 36, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for illegally possessing a Ruger Archangel rifle and a .32 caliber pistol when his SUV was stopped by police near Nationals Park, federal authorities announced.
According to court documents, Wilcox was stopped by US Park Police officers on July 12, 2022, when they noticed his black SUV had an illegally covered Florida dealer tag.
When officers approached, prosecutors say that Wilcox held a military ID card out of the driver’s side window that did not belong to him, and while interacting with him, an officer observed a clear plastic bag containing multiple-colored zip lock bags partially bulging from his shorts pocket.
The officer ordered Wilcox out of the vehicle and toward the rear of the car, where he was forcibly placed in handcuffs following his initial refusal to comply.
Further investigation led to the recovery of 19 small plastic baggies with fentanyl in them, as well as another clear plastic bag with cocaine based. They also found a Ruger Archangel, 5.56 caliber rifle with the serial number obliterated, located in the trunk, not far from a woman and child who were also in the truck.
"During the search, Wilcox stated multiple times that everything in the car belonged to him," prosecutors added.
Federal law prohibits Wilcox from possessing a firearm because he has multiple convictions from the Commonwealth of Virginia for which he was sentenced to time in prison.
Wilcox has been in custody since he was arrested on a warrant on May 17, 2023. He pleaded guilty in September last year to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
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