California Felon Sentenced to Almost Five Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Handgun at Will Rogers Airport

OKLAHOMA CITY – THOMAS LU NGUYEN, 36, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a felony, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.

On October 16, 2019, Nguyen was charged by indictment in Count 1 for being a felon in possession of firearm, and in Count 2 for entering an airport area in violation of security requirements.  The indictment described the firearm as a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

Today, Nguyen pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Judge David L. Russell then sentenced Nguyen to 57 months in prison on Count 1, along with three years of supervised release following Nguyen’s term of imprisonment.  In announcing the sentence, Judge Russell noted Nguyen’s extensive criminal history and past violent conduct.  Count 2 of the Indictment was dismissed in light of Nguyen’s plea to Count 1.

According to evidence presented at sentencing, on October 16, 2019, a TSA Agent discovered a 9mm semi-automatic handgun in Nguyen’s backpack while it was being screened before takeoff at Will Rogers World Airport prior to Nguyen’s scheduled flight to California.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Petermann prosecuted the case.