BANGOR, Maine: A Massachusetts man was sentenced today in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr., sentenced Terrence Ware, Jr., 28, of Springfield, Massachusetts, to a time served sentence of 15 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Ware pleaded guilty on May 19, 2021.
According to court records, Ware was convicted in 2019 of felony domestic violence offenses in Massachusetts. These convictions prohibited Ware from possessing firearms under federal law. On three separate occasions in June 2020, Ware possessed and shot firearms at gun range in Holden, Maine.
“The presence of a firearm in domestic violence situations significantly increases the risk of lethality," said U.S. Attorney McElwee. “Prosecution of domestic abusers who illegally possess firearms is a priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and ATF in Maine."
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. PSN is coordinated by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the 94 federal judicial districts throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories. PSN is customized to account for local violent crime problems and resources. Across all districts, PSN follows four key design elements of successful violent crime reduction initiatives: community engagement, prevention and intervention, focused and strategic enforcement, and accountability.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
