June 29, 2006 - United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan and Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham today announced the filing of an indictment* charging defendants Theresa Brown and Tony Soto with making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer in order to “straw purchase” four firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §924(a)(1)(A).
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DEFENDANT |
ADDRESS |
AGE [Date of Birth] |
|
Theresa Brown |
Philadelphia, Philadelphia Pa. |
31 |
Tony Soto |
Philadelphia, Philadelphia |
20 |
If convicted, the total maximum penalty faced by each defendant is 20 years imprisonment, three years supervised release, a $1,000,000 fine, and a $400 special assessment. This case was investigated by the Philadelphia Violent Crime Impact Team, a task force that includes members of the Philadelphia Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Narcotics Investigation (“B.N.I.”).
This is a new initiative, which is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, formed to attack the problem of violent crime by identifying and prosecuting serious firearms offenders in federal court, where the defendants are likely to receive a substantial sentence upon conviction.
The case has been assigned to Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph A. LaBar.
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UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 |
Contact: RICH MANIERI Media Contact 215.861.8525 |
*An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Benjamin Franklin Photo by B. Krist for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation