Greenbelt, Maryland - Romaine Blunt, age 44, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty yesterday to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and to violating the conditions of his supervised release for a previous conviction.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on Feb. 26, 2009, Blunt was convicted for a violation for possession of prohibited contraband in prison. Blunt received a sentence of 12 months imprisonment followed by 36 months of supervised release with the condition that Blunt not commit any new state or federal crime. On May 18, 2018, Blunt began his supervised release. On May 22, 2019, the Court revoked Blunt’s supervised release and sentenced him to six months of imprisonment, followed by a new term of supervised release until May 17, 2021.
As detailed in Blunt’s plea agreement, on the morning of October 8, 2020, a Prince George’s County police officer responded to a residence in Suitland, Maryland based on a report that Blunt was in possession of a firearm outside of an apartment building. Officers saw Blunt outside the apartment building and as they approached, Blunt reached into a black satchel slung over his shoulder and removed a handgun and dropped the gun in the nearby mulch. Prince George’s County police officers recovered the gun, a.9mm handgun loaded with approximately eight rounds of.9mm ammunition in the magazine.
Blunt knew that as a result of a previous felony conviction, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition. Blunt’s possession of the firearm and ammunition also violated the conditions of his supervised release, specifically, that Blunt not commit any new state or federal crime.
Blunt and the government have agreed in the plea agreement, Blunt will be sentenced to jointly recommend at the time of sentencing a sentence of 54 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte has scheduled sentencing for Aug. 12, 2021 at 11 a.m.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the ATF and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Fansler and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Wright who are prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
