Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Offense

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston today to the unlicensed transportation of a firearm.

Kenny Romero, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of unlicensed transportation of firearms before U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr., who scheduled sentencing for Jan. 14, 2020.  Romero has been detained since his arrest on July 9, 2019.

Law enforcement officers discovered Romero to be in possession of a firearm during a vehicle stop in December 2016.  A subsequent investigation revealed that the firearm, which had been used in a shooting earlier that month, was purchased in Virginia in November 2016. Agents learned that another individual purchased the firearm at Romero’s direction, and Romero subsequently transported the firearm from Virginia back to Massachusetts, where he resides.

The charge of unlicensed transportation of firearms provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $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 and Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the ATF - Falls Church Field Office and the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.