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Press Release

New York Man Sentenced to 92 Months for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Timothy Ortiz, a/k/a “Tyson,” 25, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr., to 92 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a felon.  Ortiz pleaded guilty on January 4, 2019.

According to court documents, on September 26, 2016, Ortiz was involved in an argument over a drug debt that led to his fatal shooting of Jonathan Methot using a Ruger, Blackhawk, .357 revolver at a duplex apartment building in Biddeford.  Ortiz was prohibited from possessing the firearm as the result of 2016 Maine felony convictions for aggravated sex trafficking and heroin distribution.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Woodcock varied upward from the applicable guideline range of 37-46 months, noting that the defendant’s criminal history was “disturbing” and the need to protect the public was “obvious.”

This case was investigated by the Biddeford Police Department; the Maine State Police; the Maine Attorney General’s Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the FBI; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted as 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. 

Contact

Darcie N. McElwee
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Updated August 29, 2019

Topics
Firearms Offenses
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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