Brockway, Pa. Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Firearms Violation

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A former resident of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to a term of imprisonment of 18 months, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release on his conviction on a charge of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Chief United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence yesterday on Douglas Means, 35, formerly of Brockway, Pa.

According to information presented to the court, in August of 2016, Means stole a .380 caliber semiautomatic Smith and Wesson pistol from his father’s residence in Brockway, PA. Means kept the firearm for a few weeks before selling it to his drug source for $400 and 1 gram of cocaine. The firearm was transferred to a drug dealer in New York, so that it could be resold for more money. The gun was later recovered in New York with the serial number intact. Means wrote a voluntary statement confessing to his conduct.

Assistant United States Attorney Shanicka L. Kennedy prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent, deter and prosecute gun crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with a detective from the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.