Houston felon gets max for illegal gun possession

HOUSTON – A 22-year-old local man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Avery Frank Bass Jr. pleaded guilty March 22.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner has now ordered Bass to serve the statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Bass was a true danger to the community.  

Law enforcement arrested Bass as part of the Houston Violent Crime Initiative announced in September 2023.

“Removing violent individuals who use firearms from our communities is one of the top priorities of my office,” said Hamdani. “The Houston Violent Crime Initiative is an innovative program aimed at reducing violent crime by employing federal laws to prosecute gang members and associates in the southwest and southeast areas of Houston. The result in this case demonstrates that we are making progress in our fight to reduce violent and firearms crimes in the Southern District of Texas.”

Local law enforcement was executing an arrest warrant for Bass for aggravated robbery in August 2023. At that time, they discovered a loaded American Tactical AR pistol and a loaded 9mm Glock 17 on the driver’s side floorboard where Bass had been sitting. A review of his criminal history showed that he had three prior felony convictions for robbery, all of which involved the use of a firearm. 

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI and the Houston Police Department conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Zenon-Matos prosecuted the case along with Trial Attorneys Ralph Paradiso and Shelia Lafferty of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.