Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BOSTON – A Brockton man was convicted today in federal court in Boston of firearm and drug charges.

 

Douglas Norris, 39, was convicted by a federal jury of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, one count of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Norris was arrested and charged in July 2017, and has been in custody since. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for March 28, 2019.

 

On June 20, 2017, a search warrant was executed at Norris’s home where a backpack containing a fully loaded Smith & Wesson, model 6906, 9 mm pistol; 21 additional rounds of assorted ammunition; plastic baggies containing over 32 grams of cocaine and over 46 grams of crack cocaine; and two digital scales were recovered. Elsewhere in the house, police found an additional 25 grams of cocaine and cocaine base, a kilo press, an electronic money counter, calibration weights, and five additional scales. Norris is prohibited from possessing a firearm based on a prior 2005 conviction.

 

The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition 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. The charge of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of five years - consecutive to any other sentence imposed - and up to a lifetime in prison, five years of 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.

 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert E. Richardson and Elianna Nuzum of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.