Federal jury finds Cape man guilty of illegal firearm possession
U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III announced on Monday that a federal jury found Michael Terrill Faircloth, 58, of Cape Coral, guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition after being convicted of a felony offense.
Faircloth faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 2.
Faircloth was indicted on July 9.
According to testimony presented at trial, Faircloth had been convicted of felony offenses and was wanted on an active arrest warrant. Upon receiving information of his possible location, officers from the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Cape Coral Police Department conducted an operation to arrest Faircloth.
When law enforcement officers arrived to execute the arrest, they witnessed Faircloth, who was standing in a neighbor’s yard, holding a firearm in his back waistband. As the officers approached Faircloth, he fled a short distance, threw the loaded gun to the ground and surrendered.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles Schmitz.
This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program – a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office
for the Middle District of Florida