A Selma man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.

U.S. Attorney Richard W. Moore announced this week that Dontaveous Benjamin, 28, was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration for possession of three pistols after felony conviction for possession of marijuana.

Benjamin pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement on May 17. Benjamin admitted in Court on Jan. 17 that Selma Police Department officers went to the home of his paramour with an arrest warrant after charges were filed against him for shooting into an unoccupied residence. Benjamin was arrested without incident.

SPD Officers asked his paramour for consent to search her residence and she provided written consent. During the consent search, officers seized three firearms found in and on top of a dresser in the living room. The firearms were described as a Hi-Point, CF380, .380 caliber pistol, a Talon Industries, model T200, 9mm pistol, and a Taurus, model 80, .38 caliber revolver.

Benjamin made a post arrest Mirandized statement.  He stated that, “those guns were inside my granddad’s house.  I think one of them belonged to a cousin . . .”   Benjamin also stated that the revolved was given to him two months ago be someone who wanted to keep it from the police.  Benjamin made several additional statements relating to the firearms.

At the time of the arrest, Benjamin had been convicted of a felony, first-degree unlawful possession of marijuana on Feb. 14 in the Dallas County Circuit Court.

SPD officers and special agents of the ATF investigated the case and brought it to the U. S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution.  The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina S. Vann.