U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced Friday that Sean Johnson, also known as “Thomas Butler” and “Wayne Sunderland,” 32, of South Portland, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to Delahanty, on May 23 Johnson pulled alongside another vehicle with two occupants stopped at a traffic light located at the intersection of Payne Road and the Maine Turnpike Approach/Connector Road in Scarborough and fired a shot into the vehicle missing both occupants and lodging in the driver side door. He fled down Payne Road. A passing motorist reported the incident by calling 911. Scarborough police officers responded and located Johnson’s vehicle parked in a driveway a short distance away. Johnson was found and arrested hiding in nearby woods. A police K-9 led officers to Johnson’s firearm, a Glock 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was buried under leaves near his vehicle. Johnson was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2013 felony drug trafficking conviction in Maine.

Johnson faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a pre-sentencing investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office, Delahanty said.

This case was investigated by the Scarborough Police Department and the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the Portland and Biddeford police departments.

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