PORTLAND — A Turner man admitted in federal court Wednesday to being a felon with ammunition.
The case against Clifford Clark, 49, stems from a complaint called in to dispatchers on July 7, 2022, about an unknown man found asleep in a vehicle in the garage of the caller’s Lewiston home.
When Lewiston Police Department officers arrived at the home, they discovered Clark in a car registered in his name, according to prosecutors.
Officers searched the car and found 10 loose 9 mm bullets in the pocket on the back of the front passenger seat and 38 rounds of 7.62-caliber ammunition in the trunk, according to court records.
After Clark consented to a search of his home, officers found 16 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition and five rounds of .38-caliber ammunition, court records said.
Clark was convicted in 2011 on a felony theft charge in Aroostook County and in 2015, in Knox County, on a charge of operating after habitual offender revocation, which prohibited him from having firearms and ammunition.
Because the ammunition that was recovered was manufactured outside of Maine, the crime was ruled a federal offense.
According to prosecutors, Clark agreed to plead guilty to the felony crime for which he was indicted, waiving his right to appeal in conviction and any sentence of 71 months or less.
He also agreed to forfeit ownership of the ammunition.
The crime is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, plus up to three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Jon D. Levy accepted Clark’s plea Wednesday.
Clark, who has been in federal custody and appeared in court Wednesday in a tan jail suit, will be released when a bed at an “appropriate” residential substance abuse treatment program becomes available, Levy said.
Clark’s sentencing will be scheduled after a presentencing report is complete, which is expected to be months away, Levy said.
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