Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm Offense

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition.

Robert Vishaun Roscoe, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Dec. 12, 2019. Roscoe was charged in May 2019 and has been in custody since.

On Oct. 11, 2018, law enforcement officers encountered Roscoe with a loaded black KelTec 9mm semi-automatic pistol and seven rounds of ammunition in Dorchester. Roscoe had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Boston Police Chief William G. Gross, and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael S. Rollins made the announcement today.  

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.