Prior Felon Pleads Guilty To Possessing A Gun And Ammunition

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Marco Sweat, 40, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Watkins, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that on June 9, 2019, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Buffalo Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, executed a search warrant at the defendant's residence on Langfield Drive in Buffalo. During the search, investigators seized three firearms and 125 rounds of ammunition. Sweat, having previously been convicted in Erie County Court of Attempted Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, and Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition.

The plea is result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. DeVito, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 15, 2021, before Judge Vilardo.

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