Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Tony Leonard, a/k/a “Tom Cat,” 49, of Lewiston, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, on August 17, 2017, the Lewiston Police Department executed a search warrant at Leonard’s Lewiston residence and seized a Glock .40 caliber handgun and a loaded magazine concealed inside of his jacket located in a bedroom.  Leonard was prohibited from possessing the handgun because of prior felony convictions for drug trafficking, forgery, and aggravated assault.

The defendant faces up to ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the Lewiston Police Department, with assistance provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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