Boston Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of a Loaded Semi-Automatic Pistol

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for being a felon in possession of a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol.  

Tyrone Goforth, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to time served (66 months and one day), to be followed by three years of supervised release. In February 2025, Goforth pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Goforth was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2020.

On July 31, 2020, officers responded to a call for a person with a gun at a bookstore in Roxbury, Mass. Goforth was inside the bookstore and fit the description of a man wearing a black shirt and olive pants. Goforth was found to be in possession of a Sig Sauer P938 9mm semi-automatic pistol loaded with five rounds of 9mm ammunition. Due to a 2000 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court, Goforth is prohibited from possessing firearms.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priority, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.