Four Toledo Men Charged with Federal Firearms Offenses

Federal firearms charges were filed against four Toledo men in unrelated cases, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Charged are:

• John R. McBride, age 21, of Toledo, Ohio. The indictment charges McBride with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

• Jonathon T. Brenson, age 23, of Toledo, Ohio. The indictment charges Brenson with being a felon in possession of a firearm on or about July 3, 2010.

• Alejandro Salazar, age 34, of Toledo, Ohio. The indictment charges Salazar with being a felon in possession of a firearm on or about November 5, 2010.

• Nehemiah T. Hagwood, age 45, of Toledo, Ohio. The indictment charges Hagwood with being a felon in possession of a firearm on or about July 21, 2010.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after reviewing 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 violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The investigating agencies in these cases were the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The cases are being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys David O. Bauer and Gene Crawford.

The cases are being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a gun violence reduction program administered by the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Toledo Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The program targets armed criminals for federal prosecution.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The burden of proof is always on the government to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.