Webster Township man pleads guilty to federal gun charge

A Webster Township man who investigators say sold four stolen guns because he needed cash to buy heroin pleaded guilty this afternoon in federal court in Detroit to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Kevin Thomas O’Brien, 30, faces up to 10 years in prison, followed by a minimum of two years of supervised release, when he is sentenced Feb. 22.

Kevin O'Brien

O'Brien entered the plea in front of U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds, admitting he possessed the stolen guns on Aug. 18. According to court documents, the guns were taken from a gun cabinet during a burglary that day at a Webster Township home.

Under a plea agreement, charges of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm will be dismissed at sentencing.

ATF agents say O’Brien sold three long guns to Doc’s Pawn Shop in Whitmore Lake the day of the burglary and a revolver to Dave's Diamonds & Gold in Ypsilanti Township the following day.

O'Brien is prohibited from having a gun because he is a convicted felon with a criminal record in Missouri, Texas and Michigan, records show. He has felony convictions in Missouri in 1999 for second-degree assault, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action, records show.

During an interview with investigators, O'Brien admitted he was a heroin addict and used $285 from the first gun sale to buy heroin, documents say. O'Brien has been detained since his Sept. 22 arrest, records say.

The case was investigated by the ATF, DEA, Northfield Township Police Department and Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department.

Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and e-mail at leehiggins@annarbor.com.