BOSTON – A Brockton man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for unlawfully possessing two trafficked handguns.
Tyrell Hampton, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to six months in prison and two years of supervised release. In February 2020, Hampton pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms.
In June 2019, investigators learned that Hampton was offering guns for sale on social media. An undercover officer posing as an interested buyer contacted Hampton on Facebook and arranged to buy two handguns. When negotiating the transaction, Hampton told the undercover officer that they should move fast because “they [the firearms offered for sale] go quick but I can always get more.” On June 27, 2019, Hampton sold a Taurus G2c 9mm Luger caliber pistol and a Glock 9mm Luger caliber pistol and 21 rounds of 9mm ammunition to the undercover officer for $2,200. Following Hampton’s arrest, investigators traced the two handguns to a trafficker who was sourcing cheap guns in Georgia and selling them in Massachusetts. The investigation revealed that Hampton met with the gun trafficker on approximately eight occasions and purchased approximately 14 firearms. Due to multiple previous felony offenses, including drug convictions and a prior firearms conviction, Hampton is prohibited from possessing guns and ammunition.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, New England Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Brockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Abely, Chief of Rollins’ Criminal Division, and Fred M. Wyshak III of Rollins’ Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.