An Augusta man, Raymond Lilly, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Portland, to possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a felony offense. The incident that led to this plea took place in September 2023 when Augusta police officers encountered Lilly at an encampment in Mill Park. Officers observed a bottle of pills in Lilly's tent, which Lilly confessed to possessing without a prescription. Following his arrest, a Smith & Wesson model M&P 15, .22 caliber rifle was found in his tent.
Lilly has previous felony firearms convictions in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, prohibiting him from firearm possession. Lilly is facing a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years along with a potential $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release. Sentencing will occur after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office, with the final decision on the sentence resting with a federal district court judge, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and various statutory factors.
The investigation was carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in cooperation with the Augusta Police Department. The case is a part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program focused on reducing violent crime and gun violence nationwide. PSN emphasizes fostering trust and legitimacy within communities, supporting community-based violence prevention programs, establishing strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring outcomes for effectiveness.
For more on Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psn.