North Carolina Felon Sentenced to 52 Months for Illegally Possessing Firearm
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Duquan McLeod, age 32, of Rockingham, North Carolina, was sentenced today to 52 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a loaded pistol as a felon.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
As part of his previously entered guilty plea, McLeod admitted that he possessed a 9mm semi-automatic pistol when Schenectady Police Department officers encountered him in downtown Schenectady on March 16, 2021. The patrol officers, who were responding to a call of individuals fighting, observed McLeod drop the pistol to the ground when they approached him. The pistol was equipped with a fully loaded 30-round magazine. A prior felony conviction for armed robbery prevented McLeod from legally possessing the firearm.
United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also ordered McLeod to serve a 3-year term of supervised release following his release from prison.
This case was investigated by ATF and the Schenectady Police Department, with assistance from the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.
