United States Attorney Paula D. Silsby announced that Kurt F. Martin, 54, of Newcastle, was sentenced on February 1, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Bangor, to 15 months imprisonment, three years supervised release, and a $100 special assessment, for the federal crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Martin pleaded guilty on July 28, 2009.
Court records reveal in 1979 and again in 2002, Martin was convicted in federal court of the felonies of Possession of a Stolen Treasury Check, and Possession of Firearms After Having Been Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence, respectively.
Being a convicted felon, Martin was prohibited from possessing firearm(s).
In 2007, Martin had illegally shot a moose in October with a .30-06 rifle.
In November 2007, Maine Wardens executed a state search warrant at Martin’s residence. Recovered was a rifle and some illegally obtained moose meat. On the same day, during a search conducted at the home of Martin’s friend, the .30-06 rifle, which Martin had used to shoot the moose, was found, along with a .357 handgun and a .30-.30 rifle, and the friend confirmed that they belonged to or were used by Martin. In fact, Martin owned the .30-06 and the .30-.30 rifles in 2002 when he was convicted in federal court for possession of firearms by a prohibited person.
This case was a part of Maine’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative that coordinates the efforts of federal and state agencies in order to increase successful prosecution of firearms cases and educate potential offenders on the serious consequences of illegal gun use and possession.
United States Attorney Silsby praised the investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Maine Warden Service.
