West Palm Beach Man Found Guilty of Weapons and Drug Charges

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Delsa Bush, Chief, West Palm Beach Police Department, announced that Gerson Theramene, 28, of West Palm Beach, was found guilty by a jury yesterday afternoon of all charges against him. He was found guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S. C. § 922(G); possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (crack), in violation of 21 U.S. C. § 841(a)(1); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S. C. § 924(c).

A sentencing date has not yet been schedule. Theramene faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to 10 years in prison on the felon in possession charge, up to 20 years in prison on each of the two drug trafficking charges, and a consecutive term of five years and up to life in prison on the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime charge.

According to court filings and the evidence presented at trial, Theramene was arrested following the April 29, 2011 search of his home. Upon executing the warrant, officers found a Ruger 9 mm semi-automatic handgun with a 30-round high capacity magazine loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition in his bedroom. In a dresser drawer in his room they also found 8.1 grams of powder cocaine and just under a gram of crack cocaine, a digital scale and a razor blade. Theramene also had in his pocket $725 in cash.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the West Palm Beach Police Department and the FBI. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance on this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Jorgensen.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.