Police say felon had 118 guns

A federal indictment issued Wednesday in Texarkana accuses a Bowie County man with a felony conviction of possessing 118 firearms and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition.

Robert D. Whittington III, 77, is the only defendant named in a two-count indictment pending in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas. The indictment alleges Whittington was convicted in 2011, in Bossier Parish, La., of the felony offense of terrorizing.

As a convicted felon, Whittington is prohib-

ited from possessing firearms and ammunition under state and federal laws. According to the indictment, Whittington was in possession of 118 weapons and 20,908 rounds of various types of ammunition March 7 in Bowie County.

A notice of the government’s intent to seek Whittington’s forfeiture of the firearms and ammunition is attached to the indictment.

According to court documents in the Louisiana case used to create the following account, Whittington pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2011, to terrorizing and received a five-year term at a sentencing hearing March 9, 2011. Whittington posted a letter at a deer camp in Louisiana threatening to come after the camp’s owner while in a deer stand. A threatening letter was also mailed to the camp owner’s home.

“We comin (sic) after yo ass during deer season— when we can drop you like a deer! Right out of your stand! We know now where you sit,” an appellate opinion in the case quotes the letters as stating.

At sentencing, the trial court “noted that Whittington was 70 years old, had retired from the United States Army as a Lt. Colonel and had a long-term third marriage,” court documents state. “However, also noted was that Whittington and the recipient of his communications had previously had run-ins that led to misdemeanor convictions for Whittington, and that during the investigation into the instant crimes, Whittington made threats to ‘open fire on’ sheriff’s deputies.”

If convicted of possessing firearms and ammunition after being convicted of a felony, Whittington faces up to 10 years in federal prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both, on each count. A date for Whittington to appear for arraignment has not been scheduled.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III.