Octavio Rodrizuez Shipman, Gun Possession, Pennsylvania 2023

A Pittsburgh felon has been sentenced to time served in federal court on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, false statements to the government, and theft of government money.

United States District Judge Joyce Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Octavio Rodrizuez Shipman, 54, in connection with his guilty plea.

Shipman, a former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been in federal/state custody since his arrest on January 2, 2019.

The court was advised that in April 2018, Shipman's paramour purchased a 9mm semi-automatic Canik pistol, which he took possession of shortly after. Around the end of April 2018, Shipman sold the Canik pistol to another individual in McKees Rocks.

Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year from possessing a firearm. Shipman had been convicted of 8 offenses in 5 different cases between 1992 and 2002.

The court was also advised that on or around July 12, 2018, Shipman falsely represented to federal law enforcement agents that another individual had sold him two bags of cocaine in exchange for $2,800.00. However, he and the other individual knowingly obtained a non-narcotic substance from a retail store, which Shipman represented to law enforcement agents was cocaine that he had purchased.

Shipman willfully converted $2,800 in U.S. currency from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for his own use.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, conducted the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

Assistant United States Attorney David Lew prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian, the Department of Justice's initiatives to reduce violent crime and enforce federal firearms laws.

Shipman was sentenced to time served to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Mandatory facts: Defendant's full name is Octavio Rodrizuez Shipman, and he was sentenced in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The exact date of the crime is April 2018, and the exact date of the arrest is January 2, 2019. The sentence is time served to be followed by three years of supervised release. The exact dollar amount is $2,800.00.

Affiliated programs: Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/pittsburgh-felon-sentenced-illegal-gun-possession-false-statements-and-theft-charges