BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A convicted felon has been sentenced for illegal possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala sentenced Charles Frederick Austin, Jr., 44, of Birmingham, to 60 months in prison. In February, Austin pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.According to court documents, on October 22, 2023, officers with the Birmingham Police Department responded to a Shot Spotter call in the Gate City Community. When the officers arrived, they were informed that a shootout had taken place on 67th Street South. Officers arrived at 67th Street South and observed Austin walking quickly down the street. An officer noticed something in Austin’s waistband which appeared consistent with a firearm. The officers then contacted Austin, retrieved a Canik 9mm firearm from his waistband, and arrested him. Austin is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of multiple prior felony convictions. Austin pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in two separate cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in May 2008 and February 2013. Austin also incurred four felony convictions between 2005 and 2021—three in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County and one in the Circuit Court of Shelby County. The ATF investigated the case along with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A Keown, Sr., and John G. Camp prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice