DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Massachusetts

For Immediate Release

Thursday, September 19, 2019
Andrew E. Lelling
, United States Attorney
Contact: Christina DiIorio-Sterling

Boston Man Charged with Possession of Illegal Firearm

BOSTON – A Boston man was arrested yesterday and charged in federal court in Boston with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Naysaan Austin, 23, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Austin was detained yesterday following an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley.

According to the charging document, on June 16, 2019, Austin was arrested in Dorchester for carrying a Sig Sauer .22 caliber Mosquito Pistol loaded with five rounds of ammunition. The serial number on the gun was obliterated. Austin is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior convictions punishable by more than one year in prison.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Chief of Police William G. Gross made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy of Lelling’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

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. PSN is 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.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Boston Field Division