CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
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BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Brittany Hutcherson, 30, of Lawrenceville, GA, who was convicted of transferring firearms to an out-of-state resident, was sentenced to serve six months in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr.
“Though theirs may not be the finger that pulls the trigger, straw purchasers, such as this defendant, help to put guns in the hands of criminals who use them for bad purposes,” noted U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “As such, they are deserving of federal criminal prosecution and being locked-up in federal prison right alongside those trigger pullers who they helped to arm.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan E. Leydecker, who handled the case, stated that on April 22, 2016, the defendant, a Georgia resident, purchased four firearms from Deaton’s Gun Shop, Inc. in Loganville, Georgia. Between April 22 and July 17, 2016, Hutcherson gave two of the firearms to an individual living in New York State who was a member of the BFL/CBL gang. The defendant knew the individual was a member of the gang and knew it would be unlawful for that individual to possess a firearm in New York State.
On July 17, 2016, Cheektowaga Police Officers conducted a traffic stop of the car Larell Watkins was driving. In the trunk of that vehicle was one of the firearms purchased by Hutcherson on April 22, 2016. Watkins was subsequently convicted for his role in the criminal activities of the BFL/CBL Gang.
On July 29, 2016, another one of the firearms purchased by the defendant was recovered by Buffalo Police Officers from Maurice Rice, another convicted CBL/BFL gang member.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia.
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