Cecil County Man Guilty of Violation of Gun Laws

BALTIMORE, MD (June 4, 2007) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Curtis Dale Rhoades, 48, of Elkton, was sentenced to one year imprisonment with all but 30 days suspended after pleading guilty in the Circuit Court for Cecil County to the illegal possession of a regulated firearm. Judge O. Robert Lidum also ordered Rhoades to serve one year of probation, imposed a fine of $200 plus court costs, and ordered the forfeiture of the seized handguns.

Maryland State Police troopers from the Organized Crime Unit contacted the State Police Firearms Enforcement Unit concerning the probable illegal possession of handguns by Rhoades. Upon determining that Rhoades was prohibited from possessing firearms because of prior criminal convictions, troopers from the Firearms Enforcement Unit obtained a search and seizure warrant for Rhoades’ home. Upon executing the warrant the troopers seized two handguns.

The case was prosecuted by the Firearms Trafficking Unit of the Office of the Attorney General. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Clarence Goetz for his work on the case.