Crawford County Man Charged with Illegally Possessing Machineguns

ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Cochranton, Pennsylvania has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The two-count indictment named Theodore D. Brown, 60, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment presented to the court, on March 22, 2019, Brown possessed machineguns which are unlawful to own and were not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.