Gang Member Sentenced for Second Federal Firearm Offense
Defendant Also Sentenced for Violating Federal Supervised Release
BOSTON – A man affiliated with the Junior Kaos gang in Boston was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition, as well as for related violations of federal supervised release. At the time of the offense, the defendant was on supervised release for a previous firearm conviction.
Dwayne Leaston-Brown, 31, who most recently resided in Brockton, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for the new offense. He was also sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to an additional six months in prison for violating the conditions of his supervised release.
In October 2020, Leaston-Brown pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was arrested by the Boston Police Department in September 2018, charged federally in November 2018, and has been in custody since his federal arrest.
On Sept. 8, 2018, after a verbal confrontation, Leaston-Brown drew a firearm on another gang member on a sidewalk outside a restaurant on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. The other individual, who was also armed with a firearm, then chased Leaston-Brown through Mattapan Square. This armed chase was interrupted by a police officer who saw Leaston-Brown running, attempted to stop him, and ultimately recovered the loaded firearm from him near the corner of Fairway Street and Blue Hill Avenue in the Mattapan Square area. Police also recovered the other individual’s firearm, and he has been charged by the state.
Federal law prohibits Leaston-Brown from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to a prior felony conviction. In November 2014 he was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and served 46 months in prison. At the time he committed the charged offense, he was on supervised release. Leaston-Brown’s conditions of supervised release included that he not commit any further federal, state, or local offenses, and that he not possess any firearms or ammunition – conditions that he violated when he committed the new offense.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New England Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross made the announcement today.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
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