More than 200 indicted on gun charges in region

1/15/2018

More than 200 people were indicted last year on federal firearms charges in northern Ohio, including 24 through the U.S. Attorney's Office in Toledo.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the average sentence for a defendant convicted in a firearms case last year was nearly nine years. A total of 202 were indicted with the highest number – 116 – from the Cleveland office.

“Firearms prosecutions are homicide prevention,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said in a news release. “We will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners, local police, and county prosecutors to identify those who use firearms in violent crimes or drug trafficking crimes, or possess firearms illegally, and seek the prison sentences they deserve.”

Trevor Velinor, special agent in charge of the Columbus Field Division of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said his agency remains focused on pursuing “offenders who use or possess firearms in relation to violent crimes.”