Philadelphia Man Convicted of His Second Firearms Offense in Less Than Two Weeks

PHILADELPHIA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Arthur Thompson, 40, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted this afternoon at trial of possession of a firearm by a felon.

The defendant was charged by indictment in July of last year.

As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, on October 18, 2023, investigators with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force (GVTF) carried out an operation to locate Thompson, who was the subject of an active arrest warrant. Investigators conducting surveillance on the 3000 block of North Percy Street in Philadelphia saw two people, who they believed were the defendant and his girlfriend, in a parked car, which drove away from that location a few hours later.

GVTF members maintained constant visual surveillance of the vehicle, which subsequently pulled over to drop off the female passenger. After the male drove off, investigators relayed its location and path of travel to Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) Highway Patrol officers, who initiated a vehicle stop. After the male driver was removed from the vehicle and positively identified as Arthur Thompson, the PPD officers arrested him on the active warrant.

GVTF investigators obtained and executed a search warrant on the vehicle, recovering a loaded 9mm handgun. Thompson had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition.

This is the defendant’s second trial and gun conviction in less than two weeks. On March 31, in a separate case, a federal jury found Thompson guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.

He is scheduled to be sentenced for both gun convictions on July 8 and faces a maximum possible sentence on each charge of 15 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Gun Violence Task Force, and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Samantha A. Arena.