Portsmouth, Va. – A Portsmouth man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for illegal possession of multiple firearms. Ryan Patrick Duggan, 41, was apprehended on April 24, 2023, by the Portsmouth Special Investigations Unit in the parking lot of a downtown Motel 6, according to court documents.
Officers arrested Duggan on outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions while he was working on a red moped. Law enforcement observed Duggan around two BMW vehicles and a motorcycle, later identified as stolen. A K-9 unit alerted officers to both BMW vehicles.
Search warrants were obtained for the BMW vehicles and Duggan’s motel room. Inside the room, officers found a 9mm handgun with a machinegun conversion device (MCD), enabling it to function as a fully automatic firearm, along with ammunition and suspected narcotics.
One of the BMWs displayed a North Carolina rear license plate not associated with the vehicle. A search of the vehicle yielded ammunition, a loaded magazine, a pill bottle containing suspected narcotics, a 12-gauge shotgun, a .223 rifle, a .726 rifle, and a 9mm pistol with a collapsible stock. The suspected narcotics included 13 pills of gabapentin, .5328 grams of methamphetamine, and 10.9 grams of fentanyl.
Duggan has nine previous felony convictions and, as a felon, is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.