OKLAHOMA CITY –  LESEAN D. HARDY, 38, of Oklahoma City, has pleaded guilty to causing a false statement to be made to a licensed firearms dealer, announced Robert J. Troester, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.  

On December 13, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Hardy and SHENITA RENEE WILLIAMS, 43, of Oklahoma City, for making a false statement to Sooner State Pawn on May 11, 2016.  According to the indictment, Hardy caused Williams to represent that she was purchasing a Walther .22 pistol when Hardy was in fact the purchaser.  The grand jury also charged Williams with making a false declaration under oath on June 1, 2016, at a preliminary hearing in a separate federal criminal case against Hardy.  During that hearing, according to the indictment, Williams testified falsely that she was by herself when she went to the pawn shop to buy the gun and that Hardy had nothing to do with the purchase and had no knowledge that she had purchased the firearm.   Finally, the grand jury charged Hardy with suborning perjury in connection with Williams’s testimony.  Hardy has been in federal custody since the grand jury handed down its indictment.

On May 17, 2018, Hardy pleaded guilty to causing Williams to make a false statement to Sooner State Pawn, a crime also known as "lie-and-try."  The government has agreed to dismiss the charge of suborning perjury.  On May 7, 2018, Williams pleaded guilty to giving testimony she knew was false about her role in buying a gun for Hardy.  The government will dismiss the "lie-and-try" charge against her.

As a result his guilty plea, Hardy faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.  Williams faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  Both also face up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.  Sentencings will take place in approximately ninety days.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy W. Ogilvie.  It is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Department of Justice program to reduce violent crime.  In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of Project Safe Neighborhoods and directed U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop crime-reduction strategies that incorporate lessons federal law enforcement has learned since the program’s launch in 2001.

Reference is made to court records for further information.