York County Men Plead Guilty to Conspiracy and Firearms Charges

Contact: Benjamin M. Block
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Chris Michaud, 23, of Limerick, Maine, and Cole Meserve, 21, of Standish, Maine, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to possess stolen firearms and possession of stolen firearms.

According to court records, between about May and November 2014, Michaud and Meserve engaged in a series of burglaries in which they stole items to sell for cash or trade for drugs.  Beginning on October 1, 2014, Michaud, Meserve and another conspirator committed burglaries in which they stole firearms that they sold for cash and illegal drugs.  On November 21, 2014, during the execution of search warrants, agents recovered several stolen firearms at a storage unit in Limerick that was rented by Michaud.

The defendants face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 10 years on the firearms charge.  They also face fines of up to $250,000 on each charge. They will be sentenced after the completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the Maine State Police; and the Office of the Maine Attorney General; with assistance from the Buxton Police Department and Cumberland and York County Sheriff’s Offices.