Serious Repeat Offender Sentenced in Federal Court on Firearms Charges

U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced the sentencing of an Anchorage man, with an extensive criminal history in the state of Alaska, on a federal conviction of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm this week.

According to the DoJ statement released on Tuesday, the Department of Justice was handed the case by the Anchorage District Attorney’s office after 41-year-old Antonio Travis Steward had been arrested and charged on multiple occasions only to be repeatedly released on bail in State Courts.

Steward, who had in the past been convicted for Theft, Robbery, Bank Robbery, and Escape, had been referred to DoJ following arrests in the past year and a half.

Several examples of recent arrests were given as examples. On April 30th of 2017, Steward had been contacted after APD received a report on a man passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle. When roused and asked to take part in field sobriety tests, Steward failed and during his arrest, a search would turn up marijuana, cocaine, and a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson firearm that had been reported as stolen.

Just over four months later, on September 5th, Steward would be arrested again after APD received a report of a stolen vehicle. Police would locate Steward in the vehicle and blocked him in, placed him under arrest and searched the vehicle. The search would turn up quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. Also found was a “stolen Tanfoligo 9mm pistol from underneath the driver’s seat, which was loaded with an extended magazine that contained 16 rounds of ammunition,” it was reported.


Five months later, Steward was again on APD’s radar when they received a report of an assault involving a firearm. Steward was identified as the assailant and police were told that he had “struck the victim and then pointed a black handgun at her, and stated he was going to shoot her.” The victim managed to escape and run to a neighbor’s home while Steward fled the scene.

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One month later, on March 11th of this year, APD responded to an Anchorage hotel after receiving a call of a man slumped over in the driver’s seat. “Steward was difficult to wake up and was asked to participate in standardized field sobriety tests,” APD reported. When Steward exited the vehicle, police would find that he had been sitting on a Colt .45 caliber pistol. Steward was placed under arrest and during the pat-down it would be found that Steward had cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia on his person.

At sentencing, Steward was sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.