Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of Firearm

BOSTON – A Fitchburg man was pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Worcester to possessing a 10 mm Glock pistol while a convicted felon. The defendant used the firearm to shoot a victim.

Joel Polanco, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 12, 2022. Polanco was charged by criminal complaint in December 2020 and subsequently indicted in January 2021.

In October 2020, Polanco was arrested after police responded to the area of Snow and Cherry Streets in Fitchburg following a report of a person suffering a gunshot wound to the leg. A witness reported seeing someone fitting Polanco’s description shoot the victim. In addition, surveillance videos showed a person fitting Polanco’s description carrying what appeared to be the black fanny-pack and holding an item in his hand that appeared to be a gun. Polanco shot the victim using a 10 mm Glock pistol which was later recovered from a black fanny-pack in the area of Snow Street.

Polanco is prohibited from possessing a firearm after being convicted of being a felon in possession of ammunition and distribution of cocaine base in March 2011.

The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to 10 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Fitchburg Police Chief Ernst Martineau made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Bennett of Rollins’ Worcester Branch Office are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.