United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

LUBBOCK MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
CAR JACKING AND FIREARMS CHARGES

Defendant Faces Up to Life Imprisonment

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced that Vernon Ray Gilmore, age 56, of Lubbock, Texas, pled guilty this morning before the Honorable Sam R. Cummings, United States District Judge, to an indictment that charged him with Possession of 10 stolen firearms, three counts of being a Convicted Felon in Possession of Firearms, two counts of Attempted Armed Car Jacking, one count of Armed Car Jacking, and three Counts of Using and Carrying a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence. Gilmore has been indicted by the Criminal District Attorney’s Office of Lubbock County for the April 16, 2005 murder of Rex A. McGuire.

Gilmore was arrested in a Burleson, Texas, motel on April 24, 2005, the day following the crimes alleged in the indictment, by members of the United States Marshals Service and Burleson Police Department SWAT Teams, after being disarmed without incident.

Each of the Possession of Stolen Firearms and the Convicted Felon in Possession of Firearms counts carry a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, while the first of the firearms violations involving use of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a statutory minimum sentence of not less than seven years, since the firearm was allegedly brandished during the offense. Having plead guilty to “second or subsequent” use of a firearm during crimes of violence counts, Gilmore is subject to sentences of imprisonment of not less than 25 years up to life. Each of the using or carrying firearms counts must be served consecutively, or “stacked” on all other sentences, including sentences imposed on crimes of violence convictions, which carry statutory maximum prison sentences of 15 years each. Thus, Gilmore faces a sentence of not less than 57 years up to life imprisonment.

United States Attorney Roper commended the United States Marshals Service in Lubbock and Fort Worth, and the Burleson Police Department for their professionalism in the fugitive investigation and apprehension of Gilmore. Roper also praised the U. S. Marshals Service in Lubbock, the lead investigative agency, which was assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Texas Department of Public Safety Motor Vehicle Theft Service, the Lubbock and Wolfforth Police Departments, and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, for their efforts in a thorough investigation of these crimes.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dick Baker of the Lubbock, Texas, United States Attorney’s Office.

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