Lackawanna Man Indicted On Gun Charge

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that a federal  grand  jury  has  returned  an  indictment  charging  Justin  Vazquez,  29,  of Lackawanna, NY, with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward H. White, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on January 29, 2015, Buffalo Police officers responded to a domestic incident call at 209 Madison in Buffalo, NY. Vazquez was at the residence of his mother and was threatening to shoot her and two others, including a child, with a loaded firearm in his possession.

Officers  apprehended  Vazquez  in  the  kitchen.  The  mother  told  police  that Vazquez’s gun was located in the back bedroom. A search recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson  AR-15  rifle.  The  defendant  was  previously  convicted  on  a  state  charge  of Aggravated Criminal Contempt and therefore is not allowed to legally possess a firearm.

The defendant will be arraigned on September 3, 2015 before the U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr.

The  indictment  is  the  result  of  an  investigation  by  the  Bureau  of  Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, under the direction of Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.