Cleveland Man Found Guilty of Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that on Wednesday, May 12, a federal jury found Ronald Sharp, 42, of Cleveland, Ohio, guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court records, in 2006, Sharp was convicted of gross sexual imposition and kidnapping with a sexually motivated specification in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Following his release from prison in 2015, Sharp was placed on post-release supervision with the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (APA) and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
As part of his release from prison, Sharp agreed to certain parole conditions, including being subject to warrantless searches and obeying federal, state and local laws and ordinances. On September 25, 2019, the supervising parole officer for Sharp became aware that Sharp may have been in violation of the terms of his release. Sharp was then taken into custody, and his residence searched. During the search, parole officers found a loaded, 9mm semi-automatic pistol under a bedroom pillow. In addition, officers located a set of camouflaged body armor inside the bedroom closet.
Sharp was then transported to the Cuyahoga County jail on an active hold order for parole violations. DNA samples from the firearm were later matched to DNA taken from Sharp.
Sharp is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1, 2021. This case was investigated by the ATF and APA. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret Kane and Andrea Isabella.
