Chesapeake Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Receiving Silencers from Canada

NORFOLK, Va. – Benjamin Lloyd Fisher, 42, of Chesapeake, pleaded guilty today to charges of illegally receiving imported firearms, namely silencers.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Fisher admitted that in the spring of 2014 he purchased a homemade .22 caliber suppressor (silencer) from a Canadian source he had met online.  The parties arranged that the silencer would be shipped to Fisher in two separate packages, in order to avoid detection by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.  Based on email correspondence between Fisher and his Canadian source, as well as other evidence, in May 2015 ATF agents executed a search warrant on the home in Chesapeake that Fisher shared with his mother.  During the search agents recovered 13 firearms, eight silencers, and crates of ammunition.  One month later, several additional firearms associated with Fisher were recovered.  Fisher is a prohibited person and unable to possess a firearm due to a previous crime of violence. 

Fisher was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 16, 2015.  Fisher faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 29, 2016. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Charles E. Smith,  Special Agent in Charge of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Muhr and V. Kathleen Dougherty are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15cr117.

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