U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of New Hampshire
Federal Building
53 Pleasant Street, 4th Floor
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
603/225-1552
| MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release November 2, 2009 |
John P. Kacavas United States Attorney Terry Ollila Assistant U.S. Attorney (603) 225-1552 |
MANCHESTER MAN SENTENCED FOR THEFT OF FIREARMS
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE: United States Attorney John P. Kacavas announced that Jason Bond, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced to a 51 month term of imprisonment followed by a 3 year period of supervised release for his involvement in the theft of firearms from a federal firearms license dealer in New Ipswich, New Hampshire.
The sentence followed the arrest of Jason Bond and Jamie Hrycuna on January 5, 2009. At the time of their arrest, Bond and Hrycuna were charged in a criminal complaint with engaging in a conspiracy to receive and possess stolen firearms, receipt and possession of stolen firearms, and theft of firearms from a person licensed to engage in the business of dealing firearms, in violation Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371, 922(I), 922(j) and 922(u).
The complaint was based upon Hrycuna and Bond’s theft of over 65 firearms during the late evening hours of January 4, 2009, from Eric Manna, operating as Eric Manna Distribution, 55 Locke Road, New Ipswich, New Hampshire. Immediately after the theft, Hrycuna and Bond, both heroin addicts, transported the firearms to Manchester, New Hampshire, and traded two of them to a known gang member in exchange for heroin. Following the purchase, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Gang Task Force, working in conjunction with the Manchester, New Hampshire, Police Department, and New Hampshire State Police, obtained the firearms sold to the gang member and engaged in the controlled purchase of two additional firearms from Bond and Hrycuna. A search warrant was executed at their residence, 599 Union Street, Manchester, New Hampshire, and law enforcement recovered all of the stolen firearms.
Jason Bond appeared before United States District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro on March 3, 2009, and pled guilty to: (a) engaging in a conspiracy, from January 4, 2009, through January 6, 2009, to receive, possess, conceal, store and sell stolen firearms which were shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(j); (b) receiving, possessing, concealing, storing and selling stolen firearms which were shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922 (j); and (c) possessing a firearm or ammunition, in or affecting commerce, while being an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(4).
The prosecution of this case was the result of an investigation by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the Special Investigations Unit of the Manchester, New Hampshire Police Department, and the Narcotics Investigation Unit of the New Hampshire State Police.
Other members that often assist in these investigations are members of DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections Division of Field Services, and the New England HIDTA
U.S. Attorney Kacavas applauded the continuing efforts of these organizations stating, “The theft and sale of firearms by individuals addicted to controlled substances presents a significant threat to communities in New Hampshire. The swift action in this case by dedicated members of law enforcement ensured that over 65 stolen firearms did not find their way onto the streets in order to then be sold to gang members and utilized in crimes of violence.”
The Safe Streets Gang Task Force initiative, part of the FBI's Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Program, was created to encourage coordinated crime fighting efforts among FBI field offices and our local law enforcement partners. The mission of the Safe Streets Gang Task Force is to effectively utilize task forces to investigate, locate, arrest, and prosecute subjects for serious federal and state crimes. These would include drug and weapons violations, armed robbery, bank robbery, kidnaping, and gang and drug-related violence. The successful blending of local and federal law enforcement resources and manpower has resulted in a well-coordinated investigative and prosecutive approach to convict and incarcerate dangerous offenders. Nationally, over 140 Safe Streets Gang Task Forces are currently in existence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office received official approval of the formation of a Safe Streets Gang Task Force as part of the District of New Hampshire’s Project Safe Neighborhoods/Operation G.R.I.P. program in November 2007. The Safe Streets Gang Task Force is jointly funded by the FBI and the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry L. Ollila.