Charlestown Career Criminal Pleads Guilty to Ammunition Possession

BOSTON – In a shocking turn of events, Joseph J. Kennedy, a 27-year-old Charlestown resident, pleaded guilty in federal court to being a previously convicted felon in possession of ammunition.

The court date for Kennedy’s sentencing is set for June 1, 2015, under the strict U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock.

Kennedy was the target of an outstanding arrest warrant on May 7, 2014. The fateful day saw him driving a vehicle in Charlestown when he was apprehended by law enforcement officers.

Upon searching his vehicle, authorities discovered a stolen safe containing multiple rounds of ammunition. Kennedy’s past criminal record as an armed career criminal now puts him at risk for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a life sentence.

According to federal guidelines, actual sentences are typically less than the maximum penalties but will be determined by Judge Woodlock based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The investigation into Kennedy’s crime was led by United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Daniel J. Kumor of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; John Gibbons of the U.S. Marshals Service, District of Massachusetts; and Boston Police Chief William Evans. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth G. Shine and Mary B. Murrane are handling the prosecution in Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.