Erie Felon Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing Pistol

ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months in jail on his conviction of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Vincent Andrew Feliciano, 25.

According to information presented to the court, Feliciano was found in possession of a Springfield Armory .40 caliber pistol in his residence in Erie, at the time a federal search warrant was being executed. Feliciano is prohibited from possessing firearms because he is a convicted felon.

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

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Cercone discussed the seriousness of the defendant’s unlawful possession of a firearm and the fact that Feliciano was on parole from an earlier firearm possession conviction in state court.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Feliciano. The OCDETF task force includes The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police. The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.