Bridgeport Man with Violent Criminal History Sentenced to 15 Years for Illegal Gun Possession

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSE ROQUE, 47, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 180 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On May 16, 2014, a jury found ROQUE guilty of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, on September 1, 2010, Bridgeport Police responded to a residential burglary call. When they arrived, the complainant described the burglar and the vehicle he drove from the scene. Later that day, officers spotted ROQUE driving the car and attempted to stop him. After a chase, which involved multiple police cars, ROQUE was stopped, but he refused to exit the vehicle. As one officer attempted to remove him, a second officer approached from the other side of the car and saw a brown gun handle tucked along the right side of the driver’s seat. After ROQUE made a movement toward the gun, the second officer kicked in the passenger window of the vehicle. ROQUE was taken out of the vehicle and tasered when he pushed back at officers.

A search of the vehicle revealed a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson SPL Model #64-2 handgun at the side of the driver’s seat.

ROQUE’s criminal history includes several state felony convictions, including convictions for robbery and burglary in 1984; assault and burglary in 1991; escape in 1992; burglary in 1993, and assault, attempted assault of an officer, attempted escape, attempted riot in an institution, and conspiracy to commit assault in 1994.

It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

ROQUE was sentenced pursuant to the Armed Career Criminal Act, a federal law imposing severe penalties for firearm or ammunition possession by persons who have been convicted of at least three violent felonies or serious drug offenses. As an Armed Career Criminal, ROQUE faced a minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

This matter was investigated by the Bridgeport Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Rombeau.

Pennsylvania Man Sentenced on Firearm Charge

BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Robert Reed, 49, of Bradford, PA, who was convicted of conspiracy to transport firearms outside state of residency, was sentenced to time served and two years supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that on October 7, 2008, the defendant, in exchange for crack cocaine, attempted to purchase a .45 caliber firearm for co-defendant Juan Lopez. However, the sales clerk was suspicious of the defendant’s behavior and refused to sell the firearm to Reed. At the time of the attempted purchase, the defendant knew that Lopez intended to bring the firearm into New York State to use it for an unlawful purpose.

Reed was arrested, along with Juan Lopez, Robert Reed, Jacqueline Runyan, Trisha Amidon, Robert Johnson, Misty Mihalko, Amy Hollingsworth, and Brett Abrams. Juan Lopez recruited the co-defendants residing in Pennsylvania to purchase firearms for him in exchange for cocaine and money. As a convicted felon, Lopez was unable to purchase guns on his own, prompting the need for the straw purchases. Lopez went to stores that sold guns in Pennsylvania with some of the co-defendants to select the firearms he wanted them to purchase. Lopez then brought the guns purchased in Pennsylvania back to the Buffalo area. Some of the firearms were recovered after being used in various crimes in Buffalo.

All of the defendants have been convicted and sentenced except for Juan Lopez who is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Skretny on November 5, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.

Today’s sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, New York Field Division.

Springfield Man Sentenced for Crack Cocaine, Firearm

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing crack cocaine and a firearm.

Ulysses Johnson, 37, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years and six months in federal prison without parole.

On April 7, 2014, Johnson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. An undercover Springfield police officer purchased crack cocaine from Johnson on three separate occasions in December 2011 and January 2012. Officers executed a search warrant at Johnson’s residence on Jan. 18, 2012, and found a loaded FIE Tanfoglio .22-caliber revolver in the nightstand of the master bedroom, a partial box of .357-caliber and .22-caliber ammunition the hallway bathroom and a large bag that contained 12.64 grams of crack cocaine, divided into eight smaller individual baggies, hidden in an oven mitt in the kitchen. Johnson was placed under arrest.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearms or ammunition. Johnson has prior felony convictions for aggravated robbery and taking a driving a vehicle without consent, two prior felony convictions for delivery of a controlled substance and two prior felony convictions for possession of THC.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ami Harshad Miller and Cindy Hyde. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.