Greece Woman Sentenced for Supplying Guns Used in Christmas Eve Shooting

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Dawn Nguyen, 25, of Greece, N.Y., who was convicted of knowingly making a false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms; selling and disposing of firearms to William Spengler, a known felon; and possession of firearms while being an unlawful user of marijuana, was sentenced to 96 months in prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.

The charges involve the purchase and disposition of the firearms that were used in the Christmas Eve shooting in December 2012 that resulted in the deaths of Webster Police Lieutenant Michael Chiapperini and West Webster Firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka, and seriously injured Firefighters Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hostetter.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Noto, who handled the case, stated that Nguyen made false statements during the purchase of a Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle and a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun at Gander Mountain in Henrietta, N.Y., in order to acquire those firearms on behalf of William Spengler, Jr. The defendant gave those firearms to Spengler with the knowledge that Spengler was a convicted felon. In addition, Nguyen unlawfully possessed the firearms at a time when she was an unlawful user of marijuana.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Webster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Pickering, Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, New York Field Division, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Scott Crozier, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn.