Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

On April 8, 2016, a Fort Pierce jury found an Indiantown resident guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Carlos A. Canino, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and William Snyder, Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), made the announcement.

Andrew Cunningham, III, 32, of Indiantown, Florida was convicted at trial, of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g).   Cunningham faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by U. S. District Court Senior Judge Paul Huck on June 17, 2016.

According to the court record, including testimony at trial, on May 4, 2015, MCSO Deputies responded to 911 calls reporting that Cunningham had broken a window at a cousin’s residence and threatened relatives after breaking another cousin’s truck window. During the early morning hours of May 5, 2015, Cunningham was brought to the Indiantown Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Station.  Cunningham had been shot in the abdomen while outside his residence, but refused to name his shooter.  During the course of the shooting investigation, law enforcement responded to Cunningham’s residence.  MCSO deputies received consent to search the residence for evidence of the shooting and discovered Cunningham’s bloody jacket, with a bullet hole consistent with his gunshot injury, inside the defendant’s bedroom.  In the pocket of the jacket, MCSO detectives found a Ruger .357 revolver, wrapped in a bandana.  Cunningham was previously convicted of felony offenses and was prohibited from possessing a firearm. 

This case is the result of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is a Department of Justice nationwide initiative that combines traditional law enforcement activities with community-based support and intervention programs. The two primary goals of the PSN initiative are to reduce and prevent violent crimes and to help past offenders adjust and re-enter the community.

Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of the ATF and MCSO for their work on this case.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carmen M. Lineberger and Daniel E. Funk.   

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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