Wilkes-Barre Man Sentenced to Five Years’ Imprisonment for Possessing a Gun in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking
SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Akilees Hobson, age 21, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to five years’ imprisonment by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Hobson previously admitted to unlawfully possessing the firearm on March 26, 2017, in Wilkes-Barre. Police seized the firearm, illegal drugs, and drug paraphernalia from a vehicle driven by Hobson.
Judge Munley also ordered Hobson to serve three years on supervised release following his prison sentence, and ordered the firearm, a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, forfeited to the government.
The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Wilkes-Barre Police. Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
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. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as 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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