Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Three Mahoning County men face federal firearms charges, U.S Attorney Carole S. Rendon said.

Indicted are: James M. Simmons, 32, of Youngstown, Ricky Paige, 30, of Boardman, and Michael Williams, 32, of Youngstown. Their cases are not related.

Simmons possessed a Ruger, model P95, 9mm pistol, on Feb. 3, 2016, after having been previously convicted of burglary, possession of cocaine, and failure to comply with order or signal of police officer, all in the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas, according to the indictment

Paige possessed a Norinco, model SKS, 7.62mm rifle on Dec. 15, 2015 and a Ruger, model P95, 9mm pistol on March 24, 2016, despite previous convictions for robbery, aggravated robbery and burglary in Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas, according to the indictment.

Williams is charged possessing with the intent to distribute narcotics and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Williams possessed with the intent to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, tramadol, alprazolam and clonazepam on or about July 1, 2016, according to the indictment.

He also possessed a Norinco, model MAK 90 Sporter, 7.62mm rifle, on July 7, 2016, despite previous convictions for aggravated assault and cocaine trafficking in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, according to the indictment.

All three cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer following investigations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.