DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of Ohio

For Immediate Release

Thursday, March 10, 2016
Attorney Carter M. Stewart
, United States Attorney
Contact: Jennifer Thornton

Previously Convicted Felon Sentenced For Illegally Possessing Firearms Stolen In Gun Store Burglaries

DAYTON, Ohio – Ricky Lasley, 37, of Dayton, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 52 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Donald J. Soranno, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Division and Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.

According to court documents, investigators executed search warrants at Lasley’s home and business and discovered three firearms that had previously been stolen from gun shops in the area. A 9mm handgun seized had been stolen from the Miami Armory and the two other firearms had been stolen from Vandalia Range and Armory. Lasley admitted that he obtained the firearms from other individuals. Lasley pleaded guilty on December 9, 2015 to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

“This case accounts for three of the firearms previously stolen from area gun shops, and should send the message that we will continue to go after burglars and those illegally purchasing firearms,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by ATF, FBI, Dayton Police Department and other members of the Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence and the Southern Ohio Safe Streets Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Hunt, who is representing the United States in this case.

Columbus Field Division