Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
PORTLAND, Maine: A Lewiston man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court records, in January 2025, Lewiston police officers stopped a vehicle operated by Kulmiye Abukar Idris, 35, for traffic violations. Officers searched the vehicle and found a handgun. Idris was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for gross sexual assault.
Idris faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for three years. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Lewiston Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Androscoggin County District Attorney’s Office.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psn.
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