Cleveland Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that Leandre D. McFarland, 33, of Cleveland, was sentenced on Monday, May 23, 2022, to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi after McFarland pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on January 8, 2020, authorities with the Ohio Adult Parole Authority conducted a home visit of Defendant McFarland who, at the time, was on parole after serving a 12-year prison sentence.  Upon arrival, authorities encountered McFarland and searched a room he was known to occupy after discovering marijuana in the room.  During the search, officers obtained a loaded firearm in a pocket connected to McFarland’s bed.    McFarland later admitted to owning the weapon and stated that he needed it for protection.  The firearm was reported stolen from a vehicle in Steubenville, Ohio.

McFarland is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to multiple previous convictions of aggravated robbery, felonious assault and kidnapping in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.  McFarland qualified as an Armed Career Criminal during sentencing due to prior felony convictions for violent offenses committed on separate occasions. 

This case was investigated by the FBI, Cleveland Police and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott C. Zarzycki.