Australian Man Sentenced To Prison For Illegally Possessing Firearm In Hawaii

AUSTRALIAN MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON

FOR ILLEGALLY POSSESSING FIREARM IN HAWAII

HONOLULU – Melvyn Gear, 59, a citizen of both Great Britain and Australia, was sentenced in federal court by Senior United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway yesterday to 15 months of imprisonment for the illegal possession of a firearm. He was convicted of being an alien illegally in possession of a firearm after a jury trial on May 7-10, 2019.

Federal law prohibits a foreign national living in the United States pursuant to a non-immigrant visa from possessing any firearms. The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Gear was in the United States on a non-immigrant visa in July 2017 when he possessed a rifle that had been shipped into the United States, which he had owned in Australia. He then lied about it when questioned by federal law enforcement officers.

U.S. Attorney Kenji M. Price said, "We will continue our efforts to prosecute anyone in Hawaii possessing a firearm in violation of federal law." At the sentencing hearing yesterday, Senior U.S. District Judge Mollway rejected a defense request for a probationary sentence and instead sentenced Gear to 15 months of imprisonment and noted that the conviction will likely result in deportation after Gear serves the term of imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security Investigations), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Hawaii County Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall H. Silverberg and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kauanoe Jackson.

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