Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Akron Man Sentenced to Three and a Half Years After Threatening Two People in a Local Business With a Loaded Firearm
U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announced today that Brandon Ricks, age 31, of Akron, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson to 42 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of firearm and ammunition on August 27, 2020.
According to court documents, on January 24, 2020, Akron police responded to a report of a man, later identified as Ricks, brandishing a firearm and threatening a customer and the manager of a business on Copley Road in Akron. Ricks left the scene, got into his vehicle and drove away. Police later stopped Ricks in his vehicle and recovered a loaded .45 caliber pistol from the driver’s side floorboard of the vehicle.
Ricks is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior felony convictions of aggravated assault in 2007 and robbery in 2013 in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Akron Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron P. Howell.
###