Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Kevin Jamelle Archie, 40, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison,  and three years of supervised release by United States Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky for illegally possessing a loaded firearm.

In May 2019, the defendant was convicted after trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charges stemmed from an incident in September 2016, when Philadelphia Police officers responded to a 911 call for a person with a gun in the area of Frankford Avenue and Pacific Street in the Harrowgate section of lower Northeast Philadelphia. Officers approached Archie when they saw him drop a black metallic object near the wheel well of a parked car and heard the object hit the ground. The officers recovered a firearm loaded with ten rounds of ammunition, and subsequently arrested the defendant. At the time of his arrest, Archie had previously been convicted of a felony – possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances – which barred him from legally possessing a firearm.

“This is the second such sentence handed down today in two different, unrelated cases that are strikingly similar: both defendants were convicted by juries of the charge of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, both incidents occurred in a particularly violent section of the city, and both defendants attempted to discard the firearms they were carrying so as not to be caught by police,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “These cases are noteworthy even if they appear to be simple at first glance because they demonstrate our commitment to fighting violent crime by targeting the most dangerous, repeat offenders.”

“There is no place in our community for firearms to be in the hands of convicted felons,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Office.  “ATF will always remain steadfast in our efforts to collaborate with our law enforcement partners and reduce violent crime.  Identifying, investigating, and incarcerating armed felons that threaten the safety of the community is at the forefront of our efforts to combat gun crime.”     

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tom Zaleski.

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