LEWISTON — A federal judge in Portland sentenced two men Thursday to prison for illegal gun possession.

The sentencing of Charles Richardson, 26, of St. Louis to a year and a day in federal prison stemming from an incident at a local nightclub. Authorities at the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force said witnesses at the scene of the shooting identified a 17-year-old as the shooter. The gun he used was in Richardson’s possession, witnesses told authorities, according to a written release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland. Richardson was a convicted felon.

A day later, agents from the task force went to the Lewiston home where Richardson was staying and seized a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun and ammunition, according to the written release.

Court records in Missouri showed Richardson had been convicted of eight felonies in connection with four incidents involving car theft at a car dealership in 2001.

In an unrelated case, Linwood Lord, 43, of Norway was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison stemming from the seizure of two shotguns and a .45-caliber pistol from his home. Lord, a convicted sex offender, is barred from having firearms due to a previous conviction for the felony of unlawful sexual contact in Oxford County Superior Court in 1988, the written release said.

Both cases are part of Maine’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative aimed at reducing gun violence and illegal gun possession, the release said.

Copy the Story Link