Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CONCORD – Damon Austin, 36, of Somersworth, pleaded guilty in federal court to being a felon in possession of firearms, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 14, 2018, Austin was involved in an altercation with another individual in Somersworth in which Austin threatened the individual with a firearm.  Soon after the altercation, Somersworth Police arrested Austin while he was in possession of the firearm.  Police subsequently obtained a warrant to search Austin’s residence.  A search of Austin’s residence resulted in the seizure of six additional firearms, as well as cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana.  Austin, as a previously convicted felon, is legally prohibited from possessing firearms.          

Austin is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14, 2019.

“The law enforcement community is working together to combat violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “This effort is advanced by depriving felons of guns that they can use to commit crimes.  The quick actions of the Somersworth officers in this case took guns out of the hands of a convicted criminal.  By working together to identify and prosecute criminals who use guns, participants in Project Safe Neighborhoods are protecting communities throughout the Granite State.”

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Somersworth Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Z.  Krasinski.

The case is part of ATF’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which is a federally-funded program intended to reduce gun violence through law enforcement training, public education, and aggressive law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute gun-related crimes. 

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