Pulled Over for a Suspended Driver’s License, Convicted Felon Faces Up to 15 Years for Possessing Firearm Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine Byline: Andrew McCormack Dateline: Portland, Maine Date: 3 March 2025 Subjects: American Government , Crime

After resisting arrest, Jeffrey Barnard was found with a Ruger in his jacket

PORTLAND, Maine: A Millinocket man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, in March 2023, an officer with the East Millinocket Police Department ran a registration check on a vehicle and discovered that it was registered to someone with a suspended driver’s permit. The officer stopped the vehicle, and a confrontation ensued between the officer and the driver, Jeffrey Barnard, 61. Barnard was arrested with the assistance of a second officer and a private citizen. As he was searched, a .22 caliber revolver was found in his jacket pocket. Barnard is precluded from possessing a firearm due an extensive criminal history, which includes a 2017 conviction in the U.S. District Court for being a felon in possession of a firearm in a case that stemmed from an armed standoff with police in Ellsworth.

Barnard faces up to 15 years imprisonment and a maximum $250,000 fine to be followed by up to three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case with assistance from the East Millinocket Police Department.

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Andrew McCormack, Assistant United States Attorney (Tel.: 207-945-0373)

Updated March 3, 2025