Lincoln man gets prison time for possessing gun as a drug user

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Lincoln man was sentenced Friday for possessing a gun while using drugs.

U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard ordered Said Muhammad Almustaquiim, 20, to spend 2½ years in federal prison.

Almustaquiim had pleaded guilty in November to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm.

In March 2021, he was pulled over by a Lincoln Police officer for having an expired in-transit sticker and no license plate.

The officer smelled burnt marijuana. Almustaquiim then said he had just put a “roach,” a slang term for a used marijuana cigarette, in a drink container.

A search of the vehicle yielded 22 grams of marijuana, a digital scale and a loaded 9 mm handgun.

After prison, Almustaquiim will serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.