Three men were indicted on firearms charges in unrelated cases, said Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Joseph Crockett, 30, of Youngstown, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Ricky D. Williams, 25, of Youngstown, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Robert Shepper, 32, of Mogadore, was charged with possession of an unregistered short-barreled firearm.
Crockett possessed a Walther, model PPX, 9mm caliber pistol, and ammunition on Nov. 21, 2016, after having been convicted of distribution of crack cocaine in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, in 2008, according to the indictment.
Williams possessed a Taurus, model Millenium Pro, 9mm pistol, and ammunition on Dec. 1, 2016, after having been convicted of robbery, in the Lawrence County (Pennsylvania) Common Pleas Court, in 2011, according to the indictment.
Shepper on May 17, 2016 possessed an Armalite Inc., Model M15, 5.56 mm rifle, with a barrel less than 16 inches long, and not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law, according to the indictment.
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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer is prosecuting all three cases. The Crockett and Williams cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Youngstown Police Department. The Shepper case was investigated by the ATF and Ohio State Highway Patrol.
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.