VALDOSTA — A Moultrie man was convicted in federal court recently on a firearms charge.
Maurice A. Ridley, 47, was found guilty of one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on May 14, a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice said. The trial began on May 13 at the federal courthouse in Valdosta. Ridley faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a maximum $250,000 fine.
Moultrie police officers were patrolling a neighborhood on Feb. 21, 2020, and saw Ridley paying close attention to the marked police vehicles as they drove by him. Officers in an unmarked police vehicle saw Ridley toss a plastic bag of suspected narcotics in a yard, the justice department said.
When officers in that unmarked car pulled up behind Ridley to speak with him, he fled on foot. He was ordered to stop but refused. A firearm fell from Ridley as he ran away, the statement said.
He ran through the back yards of two homes, and more officers joined the chase before Ridley was caught. The firearm that fell from Ridley was a loaded semi-automatic handgun with an obliterated serial number.