SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Walik Skeete, age 45, of Binghamton, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, on March 31, 2022, to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to United States Attorney John Gurganus, the charge stems from an incident in which members of the Pennsylvania State Police stopped Skeete’s vehicle in Susquehanna County for vehicle code violations and subsequently located a loaded Beretta 9mm pistol in Skeete’s vehicle. Skeete has prior felony convictions and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Judge Mariani ordered that a presentence investigation take place. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The investigation was conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
