David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Isaiah Council, a 27-year-old Wilmington resident, was sentenced yesterday to 84 months in prison for illegally possessing a stolen 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly pronounced the sentence.
According to court documents and statements in open court, Council was on probation for both a 2017 armed robbery conviction in Wilmington and a 2012 shooting conviction in New York City. Because Council had been convicted of multiple gun-related offenses, he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
On July 28, 2020, Wilmington Police Department officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Council was seated as a passenger. As the vehicle started to pull over, Council fled the car, tripping in the process. When Council tripped, he dropped a black satchel that contained his debit card, 1.4 grams of cocaine, and a tan 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun. Further investigation revealed that the handgun had been stolen from a burglary of a gun shop in Newark.
U.S. Attorney Weiss commented on the sentence, “Amidst a scourge of gun violence in Delaware, this defendant decided to arm himself with a stolen handgun. Worse, he had only been released from prison three months earlier following a 2017 conviction for armed robbery. We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who break the law by trafficking in illegal guns.”
“Any stolen firearm is a threat to communities, but couple that with being in the possession of convicted felons who intend to commit crime and the danger increases,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones. “We are proud of the strong partnerships we have with the Wilmington Police Department and our shared commitment to stopping gun violence in Wilmington. ATF is committed to relentlessly investigating these cases alongside our partners in law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Howland prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Wilmington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
