FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
October 6, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GREENBELT FELON SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR
ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A GUN
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Derrick Wenzell Simmons, age 37, of Greenbelt, Maryland, today to 78 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to trial evidence, based on information developed as part of an ongoing investigation, members of the FBI agents and Laurel City Police Department officers executed a search warrant at Simmons’ residence in Greenbelt on December 4, 2008 and recovered a loaded, Sig Sauer .40 caliber semi automatic firearm hidden in a blue plastic container in the master bedroom closet. The FBI was able to obtain some DNA from the firearm, which along with other evidence, connected Simmons to the gun. Simmons had previously been convicted on a gun charge and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Laurel City Police Department for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Gina Simms and William Moomau, who prosecuted the case.