A 78-year-old Hooks, Texas, man pleaded guilty to two weapons offenses Thursday in federal court in Texarkana in connection with 118 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition seized from his home earlier this year.
Robert D. Whittington III appeared with Texarkana lawyer David Crisp before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven for a change of plea hearing Thursday morning in Texarkana's downtown federal building. Whittington pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Whittington, a retired U.S. Army colonel and author of several books about guns, was convicted in 2011, in Bossier Parish, La., of the felony offense of terrorizing. As a convicted felon, Whittington is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under state and federal laws.
According to court documents in the Louisiana case used to create the following account, Whittington pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2011, to terrorizing and received a five-year term at a sentencing hearing March 9, 2011. Whittington posted a letter at a deer camp in Louisiana threatening to come after the camp's owner while in a deer stand. A threatening letter was also mailed to the camp owner's home.
"We comin (sic) after yo (sic) ass during deer season when we can drop you like a deer! Right out of your stand! We know now where you sit," an appellate opinion in the case quotes the letters as stating.
At sentencing Thursday, the trial court "noted that Whittington was 70 years old, had retired from the United States Army as a lieutenant colonel and had a long-term third marriage," court documents state. "However, also noted was that Whittington and the recipient of his communications had previously had run-ins that led to misdemeanor convictions for Whittington, and that during the investigation into the instant crimes, Whittington made threats to 'open fire on' sheriff's deputies."
A factual basis filed Thursday in Whittington's federal case states that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant March 7 for Whittington's home on Avenue D in Hooks and confiscated Whittington's sizable collection.
According to his indictment, Whittington was in possession of 118 weapons and 20,908 rounds of various types of ammunition. A notice filed Thursday in the case outlines the government's intent to seek Whittington's forfeiture of the guns and ammunition.
Whittington pleaded guilty Thursday to both counts listed in an indictment charging him in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble represented the government at the hearing.
Whittington will return to court for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III once the court has received a report including a recommendation for punishment under federal sentencing guidelines. Whittington faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count, a fine up to $250,000, or both. He is currently free on an unsecured $20,000 appearance bond.