Lonnel Diggs, Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted Felon, Maine 2022

State: Maine
Category: Violent Crime
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/pr/california-man-pleads-guilty-illegally-possessing-firearm" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

PORTLAND, Maine – A California man has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in U.S. District Court in Portland.

Lonnel Diggs, 40, of Van Nuys, California, pleaded guilty to the charge on [date]. Diggs, also known as "Cash" and "Cashiioso Runzitup," was convicted of robbery in California in 2003 and assault with a dangerous weapon on a peace officer in 2010, making him ineligible to possess firearms.

According to court records, in March 2022, Diggs and a co-conspirator proposed to a couple that they purchase firearms in exchange for cash and crack cocaine. The couple agreed to make straw purchases and began traveling to gun shows and gun stores in Maine on the men’s behalf. At one of the gun shows, Diggs took photos of firearms and texted the images to the couple, who then made the purchases and provided him with the firearms.

A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.

Diggs faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. Any sentence would be followed by up to three years of supervised release. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with assistance from the Lewiston Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

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