Federal Gun & Weapons Charge Defense Nationwide

The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)

The Armed Career Criminal Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), applies to someone convicted of felon in possession who also has three prior convictions — on separate occasions — for a violent felony, a serious drug offense, or both. If ACCA applies, the standard 0–10-year range for felon in possession is replaced with a 15-year mandatory minimum, with a maximum of life.

According to U.S. Sentencing Commission data, the average sentence for felon-in-possession cases overall is measured in years, but average sentences for cases where ACCA applies run dramatically longer because the 15-year floor removes the judge’s ability to go lower. Whether a prior conviction actually qualifies as a “violent felony” or “serious drug offense” under ACCA’s specific legal definitions is frequently a contested, technical legal question — not something to assume based on how the prior offense was labeled at the time.

Stacking Under § 924(c)

When a defendant faces multiple § 924(c) counts in the same case, or has a prior § 924(c) conviction, the consecutive-sentence structure compounds. Each qualifying count adds its own mandatory consecutive term on top of the others.

Why the Guidelines Still Matter

Even where there’s no mandatory minimum, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines calculate a recommended range using the type of firearm, the defendant’s criminal history, whether the firearm was stolen or had an altered serial number, and whether it was connected to another felony. Judges must calculate this range and consider it, even though it is advisory rather than mandatory after United States v. Booker.

Because so much of federal gun sentencing is formula-driven rather than left to a judge’s individual sense of the case, the legal work that happens before sentencing — challenging enhancements, disputing prior convictions, negotiating the charges themselves — carries enormous weight. This is where the background of your defense team matters. Russell Lorfing spent years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Lubbock and trained federal agents and prosecutors for the FBI, IRS, DEA, and DOJ, which means he has seen these cases built from the government’s side of the table.

How a Federal Firearms Case Proceeds

Federal cases move through a more structured process than most state cases, and each stage creates decision points.

1. Investigation. ATF or FBI agents build the case before any arrest, often through informants, surveillance, database checks (like tracing a firearm’s sale history), or a referral from a state agency. You may not know you’re under investigation until agents show up or a subpoena arrives.

2. Grand jury and indictment. Federal felony charges generally require a grand jury indictment. Prosecutors present evidence to the grand jury without the defense present, and an indictment simply means the grand jury found enough evidence to proceed — it is not a finding of guilt.

3. Initial appearance and detention hearing. After arrest, you appear before a federal magistrate judge, who decides whether you’ll be held pending trial or released, often with conditions. Firearms charges, especially combined with a criminal record or a drug charge, make pretrial detention more likely, which raises the stakes of this hearing significantly.

4. Discovery and pretrial motions. Your defense team reviews the government’s evidence — search warrants, lab reports on the firearm, witness statements, ATF trace reports — and can challenge how evidence was obtained. A successful motion to suppress evidence from an unlawful search can end a case.

5. Plea negotiation or trial. Most federal cases resolve through negotiated pleas, but that decision should follow a real evaluation of the government’s evidence and legal defenses, not come by default. Some cases are worth taking to trial.

6. Sentencing. The court calculates the applicable Guidelines range, considers any mandatory minimums, and hears arguments from both sides before imposing sentence.

A defense lawyer’s work matters at every one of these stages — often most heavily at the investigation and pretrial stages, before charges are locked in or a plea is on the table. If you’re already at the indictment stage, reach out now so we can start reviewing the evidence against you.

Common Mistakes People Make When Contacted by ATF or FBI Agents

What you do in the first conversation with a federal agent often shapes the rest of the case.

• Talking without a lawyer present. Agents are trained interviewers. A false statement to a federal agent — even about something unrelated to the gun itself — is its own separate federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
• Consenting to a search. You are not required to consent to a search of your home, car, or phone just because agents ask politely. Consent given under pressure is still consent.
• Assuming a state case is over means the matter is closed. Federal prosecutors can bring their own charges even after a state case ends in an acquittal, dismissal, or a plea to a lesser offense. Federal and state governments are separate sovereigns for this purpose.
• Trying to explain or minimize on your own. Explaining “it’s not really mine” or “I was holding it for someone” hands prosecutors an admission of knowledge and access — the exact element they need to prove possession.
• Waiting to get a lawyer involved. Evidence, witness memory, and cooperation opportunities are strongest early. Waiting until after an indictment narrows your options.
• Destroying evidence or getting rid of the firearm. Deleting text messages, wiping a phone, or trying to make a gun disappear does not make the underlying problem go away. It creates a new one: obstruction of justice. Obstruction can actually be easier for the government to prove than the original firearms charge, because prosecutors can show what existed, what disappeared, and exactly when it happened.
• Hoping the problem goes away on its own. While you wait and hope, investigators are not waiting. They are pulling records, tracing the firearm’s sale history, and talking to witnesses. By the time an investigation feels real to you, it is often much further along than you think.

If agents have already contacted you or executed a search, the most useful thing you can do next is stop talking and call a federal defense lawyer before answering anything further.

What To Do If You Believe You’re Already Under Investigation

You do not need to wait for an arrest, a search, or an indictment to start protecting yourself. If you have reason to believe ATF, the FBI, or a federal grand jury is looking at you or someone close to you, a few principles hold true no matter the specific charge.

Hire experienced federal criminal defense counsel immediately. Do this before agents show up or a subpoena arrives, not after. A lawyer who regularly handles federal firearms cases can help you understand your actual exposure and how the government is likely to view the facts.

Preserve everything, and change nothing. Keep every message, document, and record connected to the situation exactly as it is. Do not delete, edit, or try to “clean up” anything, even if it seems unrelated or harmless.

Understand that investigations move quietly before they become visible. Agents build a case through records, firearm trace databases, and witness interviews long before a target knows an investigation exists. By the time it feels real to you, the government may already be well ahead, and reacting late means you are responding to decisions instead of making them.

Federal Gun Charges vs. State Gun Charges

People often assume “a gun charge is a gun charge.” The practical differences are significant. While this page explains federal firearms defense nationwide, our Houston Federal Gun & Weapons Defense Lawyer page breaks down how these cases are handled for people facing gun and weapons charges in the Houston area.

• Sentencing structure: Federal sentencing relies heavily on mandatory minimums and Guidelines calculations; state sentencing generally gives judges more discretion.
• Parole: There is no parole in the federal system. State systems often allow earlier release through parole or good-time credit that reduces actual time served more significantly.
• Investigating agency: Federal cases are built by ATF or FBI, with more investigative resources, more time, and access to national databases like firearm trace records.
• Venue and jury pool: Federal trials happen in federal district court, often before a jury drawn from a wider geographic area than a local county.
• Case pace: Federal cases follow strict speedy trial timelines but also involve more formal discovery and motion practice.

Our firm has seen this distinction from both directions. Trey Keith secured a not-guilty verdict defending an Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon charge at the state level in the 350th District Court in Taylor County — a result that reflects the kind of jury-trial experience with firearm possession law that also applies when the same conduct is charged federally instead.