Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Niagara Falls Man Going to Prison for 8 Years for Unlawfully Possessing Firearms
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Tywon Stephenson, 31, of Niagara Falls, NY, who was convicted of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm, was sentenced to serve 98 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah E. Lenihan, who is handling the case, stated that on April 24, 2017, law enforcement officers executed a state search warrant on the defendant and his residence on 17th Street in Niagara Falls. Officers had obtained video footage that was recorded in the stairway next to Stephenson’s residence showing the defendant holding a shotgun and a handgun on two separate occasions. During the execution of the search warrant, officers found the shotgun loaded with six 12-gauge shotgun shells, and the handgun. Officers also recovered a scale and a bag of marijuana.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Niagara Falls Police Department, under the direction of Acting Superintendent John Faso, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito.
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