A 40-year-old Maryland man who was arrested at an Arlington hotel has pleaded guilty to a federal weapon charge.
The Waldorf resident was arrested Feb. 27 “at a hotel in Arlington County on an outstanding warrant for a parole violation following a drug distribution conviction in the District of Columbia,” according to a U.S. Dept. of Justice press release.
Arlington County police worked with the U.S. Marshals Service to make the arrest.
Investigators recovered “a loaded handgun with an affixed laser sight,” the DOJ said, which led to a federal charge given that the man had a prior felony conviction, making him ineligible to possess a firearm.
More on the plea, below, from the press release, issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A Maryland man pled guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on Feb. 27, officers with the Arlington County Police Department and a United States Marshals Service Task Force took Christian Lamont Thompson, 40, of Waldorf, into custody at a hotel in Arlington County on an outstanding warrant for a parole violation following a drug distribution conviction in the District of Columbia. As officers placed Thompson into custody, crack cocaine fell from his pants. During a search of Thompson’s room, investigators recovered a vial of PCP, plastic baggies, $680, suspected marijuana, and a loaded handgun with an affixed laser sight.
As a previously convicted felon, Thompson cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.
Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 21. He faces a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Charles “Andy” Penn, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles accepted the plea.
USMS provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
