Chesapeake Man Sentenced for Illegally Receiving Silencers from Canada

NORFOLK, Va. – Benjamin Lloyd Fisher, 42, of Chesapeake, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for illegally receiving imported firearms, namely silencers.

Fisher pleaded on Nov. 17, 2015. According to court documents, 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, 5 additional firearms associated with Fisher were recovered.  Fisher is a convicted felon and unable to possess a firearm.  After the search warrant and prior to his arrest, the Chesapeake Police received a phone call from one of Fisher’s relatives which caused the police to conduct a welfare check on Fisher. When the police arrived, Fisher hid inside his bedroom and told the police that his door was booby trapped with an explosive device and that he had a bomb around his neck. After a stand-off lasting several hours, Fisher finally surrendered. No bombs or explosive devices were found.

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 sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Muhr and V. Kathleen Dougherty prosecuted 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.