Somalian City Councilor Indicted For Gun Theft Refused To Recuse Himself From His Own Residency Investigation

Lewiston, Maine residents thought they'd seen it all.

But Monday night's city council meeting proved them wrong.

And a Somali refugee was elected as a Maine city councilor and indicted for gun theft but refused to recuse himself from his own residency investigation.

City swears in councilor under federal investigation

Iman Osman took the oath of office Monday night as Ward 5 City Councilor despite facing two felony charges for stealing firearms.

The 36-year-old Somali refugee was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury in December on charges of receiving stolen property and theft by unauthorized taking.

Prosecutors say Osman stole firearms from two different estates between November 2023 and October 2024.

He denies all charges.

But here's where it gets worse.

Osman lists his address as 210 Blake Street – a building that's been condemned since October 2024 following a drug raid.

The property is legally uninhabitable.

Mayor Carl Sheline has been calling for Osman's resignation since the indictment dropped.

"While he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the judicial process will be lengthy and this matter has become an unwelcome distraction from the essential business of governing," Sheline said.

Osman ignored him and showed up for the swearing-in ceremony anyway.

Council votes to investigate their newest member

The city council voted 6-1 immediately after swearing in Osman to open an independent investigation into whether he meets the residency requirements for Ward 5.

The only "no" vote came from Osman himself.

He refused to recuse himself from voting on his own investigation.

Republican gubernatorial candidate David Jones called out the absurdity during public comment.

"He just took the oath of office pledging to defend the Constitution but can't even tell people where he lives," Jones said.

Homeland Security agents raided 210 Blake Street last week as part of a broader investigation into Somali-controlled organizations in Lewiston.

Federal agents are probing multiple locations connected to allegations of Medicaid fraud and gun trafficking.

The building Osman claims as his residence is owned by Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, run by Rilwan Osman – reportedly his brother.

Nobody knows where Osman actually lives.

His attorney says he won't reveal his current location because he's facing "harassment."

But if he's not living in Ward 5, he's not eligible to represent Ward 5.

That's not harassment – that's basic election law.

Lewiston drowning in crime and corruption

Lewiston used to be a thriving mill city powered by generations of hardworking immigrant families.

Now it's becoming unrecognizable to longtime residents.

The city has been overwhelmed by rising crime, political paralysis, and nonprofit mismanagement since one of the nation's largest Somali refugee populations arrived over the past two decades.

Lewiston was also the site of Maine's deadliest mass shooting two years ago when Army reservist Robert Card murdered 18 people at a bowling alley and bar.

The Osman situation is just the latest scandal.

Federal investigators are looking into Gateway Community Services, a Somali-run nonprofit that received $28.8 million in MaineCare payments between 2019 and 2024.

The organization's CEO Abdullahi Ali is under scrutiny for alleged international arms deals and luxury junkets to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Somali State Representative Deqa Dhalac, a former assistant executive director at Gateway, has drawn criticism for saying her first priority as an American official is helping Somalia – not the United States.

That's who's running things in Lewiston now.

Osman was arraigned Wednesday morning on the gun charges.

He pleaded not guilty to both counts.

His attorney questioned why it took prosecutors over a year to indict his client.

"It took the state a long time, over a year, to indict, which makes me question the quality of their evidence," attorney Allen Lobozzo said.

Residents packed Monday's council meeting with sharply divided opinions.

Some defended Osman as a victim of racial prejudice.

"He won fair and square," one supporter said, claiming previous Ward 5 councilors "were not doing anything about the problems in downtown Lewiston."

Others pointed to the serious nature of the charges.

"Given Lewiston's issues with gun violence, Osman should not be serving on the council after being accused of trafficking stolen firearms," resident Andrew Jones said.

Androscoggin County Commissioner Shukri Abdirahman complained the investigation isn't the real problem – it's how the public has been "destroying someone's image."

But that someone is accused of stealing guns while claiming to live in a condemned drug house.

Maybe his image deserves some scrutiny.

Lewiston stands at a crossroads between its proud mill city heritage and a present overwhelmed by crime, fraud investigations, and leaders who refuse to confront reality.

The city council will hire an independent investigator to determine if Osman actually lives in Ward 5.

Nobody knows how long that will take.

In the meantime, Lewiston is stuck with a councilor who's facing felony gun charges, won't say where he lives, and voted against investigating himself.

You can't make this stuff up.

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Sources:

• Andrew Rice, "Lewiston council votes to investigate new member after swearing in," Sun Journal, January 6, 2026.
• Joe Charpentier, "Lewiston city councilor arraigned on charges related to gun thefts," Sun Journal, January 8, 2026.
• Cate McCusker, "Lewiston city councilor-elect indicted on gun theft charges," WMTW, December 4, 2025.
• Jon Fetherston, "Lewiston Council Moves to Probe Osman Residency as Calls for Resignation Grow," The Maine Wire, January 6, 2026.
• Steve Robinson, "Feds Probe 'Little Mogadishu' Locations Linked to Alleged Somali Medicaid Fraud, Gun Crimes in Lewiston," The Maine Wire, December 31, 2025.