No federal prison for man who brought gun into movie theater

The Georgia man caught toting a gun and ammunition in a Pennsylvania movie theater in July 2016 won’t be headed to federal prison. But William Gossett isn’t a free man yet either, his attorney said Friday.

Gossett, 22, of Covington, was sentenced to time served, nearly 2 years, in federal court Thursday after pleading guilty to possession of a gun and ammo by a convicted felon. His Pennsylvania arrest violated Gossett’s probation in Georgia on unrelated charges, Pittsburgh attorney Daniel Konieczka said. Gossett now will be returned to Newton County in Georgia where he was convicted in March 2016 of identity theft fraud.

“He’s been remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshals,” Konieczka told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Gossett made national news when he was found with a semi-automatic handgun and a box of ammunition in a backpack as he walked around the Cinemark theater in Center Township, Pennsylvania, about 7 p.m. July 23, 2016. The incident came a month after a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub, and investigators feared Gossett had planned a similar attack.

Gossett told police that he was at the theater to see “The Purge” movie. Investigators determined the gun had been stolen from Ohio, and a search warrant revealed that 52 items were seized from his bag. In addition to the gun and ammo, police found a respirator, two cans of black spray paint, gloves, black tape, electric cords, two first aid kits and a handwritten note.

Gossett entered a guilty plea in August. He will be on federal probation for three years and must pay a $100 fine.