Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm Charge

BOSTON – A Springfield man pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Springfield to unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Mark Alexander, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.  U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for March 16, 2017.

On Sept.2, 2015, Alexander possessed a .22 caliber pistol.  As a result of a prior felony offense, Alexander was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition.  Alexander and his co-defendant, Hector Nieves, worked together to sell the pistol and ammunition to a cooperating witness.

In July 2016, Nieves was sentenced to five years in prison for the same charge.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force and the ATF.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.