Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Failing to Register as a Sex Offender
BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition and failing to register as a sex offender.
Shane Brown, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of failing to register as a sex offender in violation of the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA). U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for June 17, 2021. Brown was arrested on Sept. 11, 2020 and has been in custody since.
Brown, who was convicted of a sex offense in Virginia in 2013, moved from Virginia to Boston in or around May 2020. In May and June 2020, Brown was employed in security work around Greater Boston. Brown failed to register as a sex offender in Massachusetts prior to his arrest on state charges on July 2, 2020. At the time of his state arrest, an SCCY Industries, model CPX-2, 9mm caliber pistol loaded with seven 9mm Luger cartridges was found in Brown’s waistband. Due to a previous conviction for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, Brown is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of failing to register as a sex offender provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to lifetime supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; U.S. Marshal John Gibbons of the District of Massachusetts; U.S. Marshal Thomas L. Foster of the Western District of Virginia; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna Nuzum of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.