Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms Charges

BOSTON – A Springfield man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield to unlawfully possessing firearms.

Kenneth Finch Jr., 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm before U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 18, 2018. Finch has a prior felony conviction in North Carolina for being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

In June 2015, law enforcement received information that Finch was a source for firearms in the Springfield area. On June 3, 2015, Finch sold a Ruger Model P-90 .45 caliber pistol and six rounds of .45 caliber ammunition to two undercover officers in exchange for $1,200.  Finch was later arrested on May 12, 2016, and charged.  The following day, Finch called his girlfriend from jail and directed her to a firearm that he had concealed in her apartment.  Law enforcement later recovered a Duetsche Werke 7.65 mm caliber pistol from Finch’s girlfriend at her apartment in Springfield.  On Nov. 10, 2016, Finch was charged with an additional count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine A. Wagner of Weinreb’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.