Judge Sentences Felon Convicted of Illegal Gun Possession to 70 Months in Prison

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 70 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Brandon Moorefield, 26, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Moorefield was convicted after a jury trial in November, 2015. According to information presented during trial, on Nov. 13, 2014, Wilkinsburg police officers on patrol near Swissvale Avenue observed the defendant, Brandon Moorefield, who was previously convicted of felony drug and gun offenses, carrying what appeared to be a firearm with an extended clip protruding from beneath his clothing. The officers approached Moorefield, who then fled with the firearm in hand and briefly hid near a building located on Stoner Way. Moorefield was arrested minutes later, and when the officers returned to the area on Stoner Way where Moorefield had been seen hiding, officers discovered a loaded Sturm, Ruger and Co. model P-95, 9 mm firearm with an extended clip. The clip was loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, and one round was chambered.

Assistant United States Attorney Katherine A. King prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Wilkinsburg Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Brandon Moorefield.