DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Massachusetts

For Immediate Release

Thursday, May 3, 2018
Andrew E. Lelling
, United States Attorney
Contact: Christina DiIorio-Sterling

Convicted Felon Charged with Unlawful Possession of Ammunition

BOSTON – A Burlington man with at least four prior felony convictions was charged today in federal court in Boston with unlawfully possessing ammunition.  

 

Brendan Sheils, 32, was indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. In March 2018, Sheils was charged in federal court by complaint after he was arrested by state authorities.

 

According to the charging documents, in February 2018, a cooperating witness alerted law enforcement that while at Sheils’ residence in November 2017, the cooperating witness observed Sheils with ammunition and cleaning a large black gun.

 

On Feb. 23, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a state search warrant at Sheils’ home, where they seized a firearm (which turned out to be a “ghost gun,” an unregistered firearm created by purchasing the component parts and assembling the firearm by hand), 28 rounds of 5.56 caliber Lake City Army ammunition, one round of .223 caliber Federal ammunition, and one found of .22LR caliber Federal ammunition.

 

Sheils is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to prior felony convictions, which include: a 2009 conviction for resisting arrest; a 2013 conviction for possession with intent to distribute a Class A controlled substance; a 2013 conviction for assault with a dangerous weapon, specifically, a handgun; and two separate 2013 convictions for possession of a firearm without an identification card.

 

Sheils faces 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 and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

 

The details contained in the indictment 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