ews Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island

November 19, 2009

Two sentenced for firearms offenses

            A federal judge has sentenced two men to prison for being felons in possession of firearms.  In separate cases, Stanley Alston, 39, of Providence was sentenced on November 17 to 67 months, and Damon Foster, 35, of The Bronx, New York, was sentenced today to 37 months.
            United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha announced the sentences, which Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi imposed in U.S. District Court, Providence.
            In April, Alston pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  At the plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard W. Rose said the government could prove that, on July 10, 2008, Alston met an undercover ATF agent at a convenience store on Broadway in Providence and said he had a gun for sale.  The agent told Alston to bring the gun to his car outside the store.  Alston got into the car with a black case that contained a semi-automatic rifle, and the agent gave him $200 for the weapon.
            Foster pleaded guilty in June to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  At Foster’s plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose said the government could prove that, in January, Providence Police officers arrested Foster on two outstanding warrants.  During a search of Foster’s belongings at an apartment where he had been staying, officers seized two semi-automatic handguns:  a nine millimeter and a .45 caliber.
            Both defendants have prior felony convictions, Alston for breaking and entering and drug possession, Foster for drug trafficking.
            Providence Police and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms investigated the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Department of Justice initiative against gun crimes.  Under Project Safe Neighborhoods, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with Providence Police, ATF, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, Rhode Island State Police, and other agencies, aggressively prosecutes federal firearms offenses in an effort to incarcerate those responsible for gun violence and deter others from committing gun crimes.  Since 2001, federal gun offenders have been sentenced to a total of more than 900 years in federal prison.

Contact: 401-709-5032
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