Newton Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Distribution and Unlawfully Possessing Firearm and Ammunition
Defendant Was on Supervised Release at the Time of Offense
BOSTON – A previously convicted felon residing in Newton, Mass. pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to cocaine distribution and firearm offenses.
Shawn Craig, 38, pleaded guilty to three counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Dec. 18, 2023. Craig was charged in January 2022.
Craig coordinated three drug transactions with an undercover agent between September and October 2022. Craig met with the undercover agent near his Newton residence on three separate occasions – Sept. 12, Oct. 20 and Oct. 26, 2022 – to conduct the deals, during which Craig provided cocaine in exchange for cash. Prior to the third meeting, on Oct. 26, 2022, Craig sent an image of a firearm to the undercover agent and indicated that he could sell it to the agent. During the subsequent meeting, Craig provided the undercover agent with a firearm, ammunition and a quantity of cocaine.
At the time of the conduct, Craig was on federal supervised release for a 2014 federal conviction for possessing a stolen firearm and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Craig was sentenced to seven years in prison and three years of supervised release in that case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; John E. Mawn, Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan; and Newton Police Chief John F. Carmichael Jr. made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Probation Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin R. O’Donnell of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
