OKLAHOMA CITY – ANDREW LINTON SAWYERS, 60, of Norman, has been sentenced to serve 60 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm after a prior felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

On August 16, 2023, a federal grand jury charged Sawyers with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the public record, on October 30, 2022, Norman Police Department (NPD) officers responded to a welfare check at an apartment, where they learned that Sawyers had pointed a pistol at his girlfriend. Although Sawyers had left the residence before authorities arrived, he was arrested a short time later by NPD officers, who found a pistol in his waistband. At that time, Sawyers had been previously convicted of multiple felonies, including Florida convictions for armed home invasion and kidnapping, and Oklahoma convictions for possession of firearms after a felony conviction and endangering others while eluding or attempting to elude a police officer.

On October 23, 2023, Sawyers pleaded guilty to illegally possessing the firearm, despite his criminal record.

At Sawyers’ sentencing hearing on June 3, 2024, U.S. District Judge Patrick R. Wyrick sentenced Sawyers to serve 60 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In announcing his sentence, Judge Wyrick noted the circumstances of the offense and Sawyers’ criminal history. At sentencing, the government also introduced evidence that, in July 2023, Sawyers had threatened to kill a state prosecutor. 

This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Norman Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Walters prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice program to reduce violent crime. In October 2017, the Department announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop crime-reduction strategies that incorporate lessons federal law enforcement has learned since the program’s launch in 2001. This case is also part of “Operation 922,” the Western District of Oklahoma’s implementation of PSN, which prioritizes prosecution of federal crimes connected to domestic violence. For more information about PSN, please visit https://justice.gov/psn and https://justice.gov/usao-wdok.  Reference is made to public filings for additional information.