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Press Release

Lorain Man Sentenced To More Than Six Years In Prison For Firearms

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio

A Lorain man was sentenced to more than six years in prison after previously pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Jose Romero, age 32, was found to have 40 pistols, rifles and revolvers earlier this year despite having a 2005 conviction in Lorain County for domestic violence, according to court documents.

“This office places a high priority on keeping firearms out of the hands of those who are forbidden by law from obtaining them,” Dettelbach said. “Whether it is a person using a gun to commit a violent crime, a felon illegally obtaining a firearm or a straw purchaser trying to circumvent the law, we will aggressively pursue those who would violate our nation’s firearms laws.”

U.S. District Judge James Gwin sentenced Romero to 80 months in prison on Sept. 20.

Romero told a confidential informant that he was interested in purchasing large numbers of firearms in an effort to influence their availability in Lorain, according to court documents.

The information indicated that Romero stores many of his firearms inside a safe inside his grandmother’s residence on Charleston Avenue in Lorain. Law enforcement officers subsequently searched Romero’s home on East 31st Street and the Charleston Avenue home on Feb. 26, 2013, according to court documents.

Investigators found firearms, marijuana and cocaine at the East 31st Street residence and a safe with 28 firearms at the Charleston Avenue residence, as well as marijuana, according to the court documents.

This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Corts following an investigation by the Lorain Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Lorain County Drug Task Force and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Updated March 12, 2015