BANGOR, Maine — A Brewer man barred from possessing guns because he was a three-time convicted felon was sentenced Thursday to 2½ years in prison for having two rifles and a pair of shotguns at his residence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Walter Botelho, 52, of Brewer, was caught with the weapons on May 2, 2016, during a raid at his house by members of the Brewer Police Department and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. Two months later, the Penobscot County grand jury indicted him on a charge of aggravated operation of a meth lab. The drug case in state court is pending.
He pleaded guilty in September to the federal charge of being a felon in possession of firearms.
“The defendant was prohibited from possessing firearms because of prior felony convictions for first-degree manslaughter (New York), receiving stolen goods (Rhode Island) and assault and battery (Massachusetts),” acting U.S. Attorney Richard W. Murphy said in a press release issued Thursday.
U.S. District Judge John Woodcock, who said Botelho had “a problem beating up women” and described his prior criminal conduct as “chilling,” sentenced him to the time behind bars and to three years of supervised release when he get out of prison, according to the press release.
Woodcock also told Botelho that if he did not turn his life around, his dream of having a stable life in Maine would “turn into a nightmare for others.”