Anthony Eugene Burns, a 31-year-old Maryland resident with a prior felony conviction, was sentenced on November 24, 2025, to 55 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded Glock 27 pistol with an extended magazine. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., following his conviction by a federal jury on September 10, 2025, for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Jia M. Cobb ordered Burns to serve three years of supervised release after completing his sentence.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and joined by ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to evidence presented at trial, MPD officers were patrolling Southeast Washington on February 25, 2024, when they responded to reports of a disorderly group at an apartment building on the 2700 block of Wade Road Southeast. Officers saw Burns turn and run away as they approached the building. During the pursuit, officers observed him throw what appeared to be a dark-colored object over a fence into a vacant lot before continuing through an alley between Eaton Road Southeast and Sumner Road Southeast. After briefly losing sight of him, police found Burns hiding on the 1200 block of Sumner Road Southeast.
Officers returned to the location where they saw Burns throw the object and recovered a black Glock 27 pistol loaded with an extended magazine containing 21 rounds and one round in the chamber.
Burns had previously pleaded guilty in 2017 to felony charges related to an armed robbery spree that included conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, interference with interstate commerce by robbery, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced then to 84 months in prison and remained under supervised release for those offenses at the time he committed this new offense.
The case was investigated by both MPD and ATF. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole and Special Assistant United States Attorney Emily Reeder-Ricchetti with support from Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Robinson.
“This case was investigated by the MPD and ATF. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole and Special Assistant United States Attorney Emily Reeder-Ricchetti, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Robinson.”
