Baltimore Felon Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Gun

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Deandre Murphy, age 31, of Baltimore, today to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.

According to his plea agreement, Baltimore City Police officers were patrolling the Cherry Hill area of Baltimore when they saw Murphy, who was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. That seemed unusual to the officers since the temperature was about 90 degrees. Due to recent violence in the area, the officers approached Murphy to speak with him. As they approached from the rear, the officers saw the handle of handgun in Murphy’s pants. Murphy was not aware of the officers’ presence at that time.

One of the officers put his hand over the handle of the handgun and yelled “gun” for the protection of the other officers. Murphy struggled with the officers, but was subdued and the handgun, a .22 caliber pistol, fell from his waistband area. Murphy had previously been convicted of a felony and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney A. David Copperthite, who prosecuted the case.