Ferdinand Cruz, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Vermont 2021

A Bellows Falls man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for being a previously convicted felon found in possession of a firearm. Ferdinand Cruz, 40, of Bellows Falls, Vermont, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Cruz was also ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release and pay a $100 special assessment.

On June 4, 2021, U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Cruz to 15 months in prison and ordered the criminal forfeiture of two firearms found in his possession. The firearms included a Ruger LCP .380 caliber pistol and a Taurus Model PT111 Millennium G2 9mm caliber pistol.

According to court records and proceedings, in May 2020, the Dover, Vermont Police Department was investigating an unrelated criminal allegation against Cruz. When officers went to Cruz’s residence to interview him, he was wearing a Ruger LCP .380 caliber pistol on his waistband. At that time, Cruz was a previously convicted felon, having been convicted of Robbery in the Second Degree in 2003, and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The investigation and prosecution of Cruz were commended by Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt, who praised the efforts of the Dover, Vermont Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson handled the prosecution of Cruz, while Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth Quinn represented him.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the federal government’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.

The PSN program focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. For more information on the PSN program, visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.

The court records and proceedings also revealed that Cruz was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his previous conviction of Robbery in the Second Degree in 2003.

The Dover, Vermont Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program all played a significant role in the investigation and prosecution of Cruz.

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