Steven Darnell Richers, Dealing Firearms Without a License, Maryland 2019

A Virginia man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell firearms and ammunition without a license in Maryland, federal authorities announced.

Steven Darnell Richers, age 25, of Manassas, Virginia, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms and ammunition without a license.

According to his guilty plea, from at least January through March of 2019, Richers conspired with another federal defendant, Christopher Heard, to sell firearms and ammunition. For example, on January 22, 2019, Richers exchanged text messages with Heard about firearms trafficking activity and meeting for a transaction.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, on or about January 25, 2019, Heard sold an unloaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol and fourteen rounds of 9mm ammunition to a Confidential Source 1 (“CS 1”) in Maryland for $700. On January 26, 2019, Richers sent a text message to Heard that stated in part “I knew you were finna sell that hk lol.”

Richers faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to engage in the sale of firearms and ammunition without a license. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for August 8, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.

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

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked the Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight J. Draughon, who is prosecuting the case.

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