Sunday, April 09, 2017

Springfield Man Sentenced for Illegal Firearm



SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Scott Goodwin-Bey, 49, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 10 years in federal prison without parole, the statutory maximum sentence for the offense.

On Oct. 4, 2016, Goodwin-Bey was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool issued the verdict on Oct. 4, 2016, following a one-day bench trial on Aug. 23, 2016.

According to the court’s findings of fact, Goodwin-Bey entered the Star Mart on W. Chestnut Expressway on Nov. 30, 2014, carrying a loaded Ruger 9mm pistol. Goodwin-Bey placed the gun on the counter and the store clerk took the firearm and handed it to the store manager. Both the clerk and the manager recognized Goodwin-Bey from earlier interactions because he had behaved in a strange manner. The clerk escorted Goodwin-Bey outside the store and Goodwin-Bey left in a white Lincoln. The store manager dialed 911 and requested that officers come to the Star Mart because of concern over Goodwin-Bey’s actions.

When an officer arrived, the store manager turned over the firearm. Another officer stopped Goodwin-Bey, who was driving the Lincoln, and he was arrested. Officers found loose 9mm ammunition on the floor of his vehicle and in the parking lot in front of the store in the vicinity of where the vehicle had been parked.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Goodwin-Bey has two prior felony convictions for carrying a concealed weapon and prior felony convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of crack cocaine, resisting arrest and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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