TL;DR: A Hiram man with a criminal past has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after deputies found a gun on him while arresting him on state charges in 2023. The federal conviction was for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A Hiram, Georgia, man with a criminal past has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after deputies found a gun on him while arresting him on state charges, federal prosecutors announced on Friday. Richard Cornell Brown, 46, was sentenced after a bench trial in August 2025 in which a judge convicted him of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Brown’s federal charge stemmed from an arrest on May 10, 2023, when the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office took him into custody on state rape and sodomy charges following an alleged attack on a Paulding County woman. While arresting him, deputies discovered a pistol in Brown’s possession.
Federal law strictly prohibited Brown from owning or carrying firearms because of his criminal record, prosecutors said. It is important to be precise here: the federal conviction was for the gun possession, not for the state charges, which are separate allegations.
A three-time convicted felon
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Brown is a three-time convicted felon. His record includes a state conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and an earlier federal conviction for illegal gun possession.
That earlier federal case was brought after Brown threatened clerks at the federal courthouse in Rome and recorded videos of himself shooting at campaign signs for the Bartow County sheriff, prosecutors said. That history was central to the new case: once a person has a felony conviction, federal law bars them from possessing a firearm, and each new possession can bring a new federal prosecution.
Why a gun found during an arrest became a federal case
State and federal prosecutors often work in parallel when a gun is found on a person who is already prohibited from possessing one. The state case addresses the underlying alleged conduct, while the federal case addresses the separate offence of a felon possessing a firearm, which carries its own penalties and is often prosecuted in federal court because of the defendant’s record.
In Brown’s case, the August 2025 bench trial, a trial decided by a judge rather than a jury, ended in a conviction on the federal gun charge. The sentence announced this week was seven years in federal prison.
What prosecutors and investigators said
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said felons who possess firearms represent a very real danger to the community, and that Brown’s actions demonstrated utter disregard for the law. He said the court’s substantial sentence ensures Brown will pose no threat to the community for nearly a decade.
FBI Georgia Supervisory Senior Special Agent Mitchell Jackson of the Cartersville Resident Agency said felons in possession of a gun can lead to dangerous consequences, a point prosecutors emphasised given Brown’s repeated offences.
What remains separate
The state rape and sodomy charges that led to the 2023 arrest are distinct from the federal gun conviction, and readers should not conflate the two. The federal sentence reported here is for the firearm offence, based on Brown’s status as a convicted felon and the pistol found during his arrest.
Federal prosecutors and local law enforcement said Brown’s repeated offences showed a disregard for the law and for community safety, and they pointed to the seven-year sentence as the consequence for the federal gun offence.
Featured image: representative scene photo, not a photo of the people or the exact location in this case. Image source: courtroom photo
Sources: FOX 5 Atlanta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was sentenced in the Georgia gun case?
Richard Cornell Brown, 46, of Hiram, Georgia.
What was his sentence?
Seven years in federal prison.
What was he convicted of?
Being a felon in possession of a firearm, after a bench trial in August 2025.
How was the gun discovered?
Paulding County deputies found a pistol on Brown while arresting him on May 10, 2023, on state rape and sodomy charges.
Was he convicted of rape in federal court?
No. The federal conviction was for the firearm offence. The state charges are separate allegations.
Why was he prohibited from having a gun?
Brown is a three-time convicted felon, and federal law bars convicted felons from possessing firearms.
What was in his earlier record?
A state conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and an earlier federal conviction for illegal gun possession, after he threatened federal courthouse clerks in Rome, prosecutors said.
