Convicted Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for 3rd Firearm Offense

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Christopher Rene, 26, of Providence, was sentenced on Tuesday to 72 months in federal prison and 3 years supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for violating the terms of his supervised release on a previous conviction in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Rene pleaded guilty on November 22, 2016 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to violating the terms of supervised release. He was arrested by Providence Police on February 4, 2016. It was the third arrest of Rene on firearm charges.

Rene’s sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., is announced by Acting United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch, Providence Police Chief Colonel Hugh T. Clements, Jr., and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Division of the FBI.

According to court records, in August 2009, Rene was convicted in Rhode Island state court on drug trafficking and firearm charges and sentenced to 7 years in prison, 6 months to serve and 78 months of probation.  In a separate matter, in March 2011, Rene was convicted in federal court of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release.

On February 10, 2015, while on federal supervised release and state probation, Rene was among 35 individuals arrested during a series of investigations into violent crimes in Providence as part of the Rhode Island Violent Crime Initiative.  Based on information gathered by law enforcement, Rene was arrested for violating the terms of his federal supervised release. He was sentenced to six months in federal prison and an additional 30 months of federal supervised release.

According to state court documents, in February 2016, during an investigation into drug trafficking in Providence, Providence Police seized 41 bags of crack cocaine and .40 caliber handgun from vehicles accessed by Rene. Rene was detained shortly after he exited one vehicle and placed the handgun in the second vehicle.

 The most recent case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.

The matter was investigated by the Providence Police Department with the assistance of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force.

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