Feds: Repeat felon pleads guilty as trial was about to start

A repeat felon from Columbus pleaded guilty in federal court this week, just as his trial was about to begin, according to prosecutors.

Antonio Triplett, 47, also known as “Trip,” pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley to the illegal possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. According to federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, Triplett has at least six previous convictions, including robbery and domestic violence, that forbid him from possessing a firearm.

Federal prosecutors, citing court documents, said Columbus police responded to a July 12, 2025, 911 call about an armed man threatening a woman on Stevens Avenue. Authorities said Triplett was at the property despite requests that he leave.

According to a news release, officers found a pistol beneath an inflatable mattress in the house’s living room. Triplett told authorities he had been staying there and that he spent the bulk of his time in the living room.

Prosecutors said that lab results from Dec. 31, 2025, showed Triplett’s DNA on the firearm in at least three areas. He apparently also told officers that if his DNA was on the firearm, it would be because he picked up the firearm while cleaning.

A federal grand jury indicted Triplett in January, and he faces up to 15 years in prison at sentencing. Prosecutors said the precise sentence will be “based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.”