PITTSBURGH, PA – After deliberating for approximately an hour and 15 minutes yesterday, a federal jury of four men and eight women found Deamonte Law guilty of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Law, 29, formerly of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, was tried before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
According to Assistant United States Attorneys Barbara K. Doolittle and DeMarr Moulton, who prosecuted the case, the evidence presented at trial established that Law possessed a Smith and Wesson, Model M&P, .40 caliber pistol on Sept. 4, 2020, despite having previously been convicted of a felony. In May of 2015, Mr. Law was convicted of conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base, in the form commonly known as crack, as well as possessing a firearm in furtherance of this drug trafficking crime, at Criminal No. 13-202 in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Federal law prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a firearm.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for April 19, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued the defendant’s detention.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the McKeesport Police Department, and the Allegheny County Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Deamonte Law.