ALBANY – An Albany resident with a lengthy criminal history in the community has been sentenced to prison for illegal possession of a firearm as a result of a separate Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation.
Marcus Ryan Telfair, 30, of Baconton, was sentenced to 130 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner after previously pleading guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon . There is no parole in the federal system.
“Repeatedly convicted felons caught with firearms while committing other crimes will see their cases in federal court,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Our office supports the work of our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to make our communities safer and hold serial offenders accountable.”
“Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to ensuring that people with a history of violent crime are held accountable for their actions,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “The illegal possession of firearms by convicted felons poses a significant threat to our communities, and we will continue to work tirelessly to remove these dangerous individuals from our streets.”
“This conviction demonstrates the efforts we are making with our state and federal partners to target career criminals,” said Albany Police Chief Michael Persley. “It is my wish that the message is loud and clear that if someone commits a crime and possesses a firearm, there are no limits to the full prosecution of those acts. We are focused on finding people who insist on creating an unsafe community so others can feel safe wherever they go.”
According to court documents and statements made in court in the Telfair case, officers from the Albany Police Department responded to a disorderly conduct call on West Society Avenue on October 23, 2023. A landscaper who worked nearby called 911 after seeing Telfair drag a woman across the street by her hair who was screaming for help. The landscaper tried to intervene, but Telfair pulled out a gun, pointed it at the man and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t step away.
When police arrived, Telfair ran away and was found hiding under a porch. Telfair’s backpack contained a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a knife; the gun was stolen from a truck earlier this year. The female victim said Telfair robbed her of her belongings. Additionally, another citizen contacted police on October 14, 2023, after a man matching Telfair’s description flashed a gun at him while he stole items from his truck.
APD recovered some of the stolen items from the backpack Telfair had in his possession during his arrest. Telfair has several prior criminal convictions in Dougherty County Superior Court, including theft, trespassing and interfering with government property.
These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and make neighborhoods safer.
The Telfair case was investigated by the Albany Police Department with assistance from ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Redavid prosecuted the cases for the government.
