South Portland Man Sentenced to 2+ Years for Possessing a Firearm After Domestic Violence Conviction

PORTLAND, Maine: A South Portland man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. 

Chief U.S. District Judge John D. Levy sentenced Willie Richard Minor, 63, to the two years, eight months, and ten days he had served before an earlier conviction was vacated.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in June 2010, Minor was convicted in Maine Superior Court of domestic violence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office does not identify victims of crime and is limiting identifying information to protect the victim’s privacy. As a result of that conviction, Minor was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition. In November 2016, Minor admitted to having a gun in an interview with the Auburn Police Department. The police recovered the gun from his apartment in Auburn.

Minor was originally convicted and sentenced on the federal charge after a trial in December 2017. While the case was pending on appeal, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision, Rehaif v. United States, that changed what the government is required to prove in certain federal firearm possession cases. As a result, the parties agreed to have the original conviction vacated, and the case was remanded for a new trial. Minor was again convicted after a trial in February 2020, and in September 2020, he was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release.

In March 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found that the jury had been incorrectly instructed in Minor’s second trial. The Court of Appeals clarified what the government is required to prove under the Supreme Court’s Rehaif decision, leading to the third trial. Minor was again found guilty by a federal jury following a two-day trial in April 2024.

“This office will continue to prioritize prosecutions against those convicted of domestic violence who illegally possess firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee. “Anyone convicted of abuse – and those they choose to victimize – should understand that illegal gun possession by domestic abusers will not be tolerated.”

The Auburn Police Department; Maine State Police Crime Laboratory; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and FBI investigated the case.

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