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Date: 06-02-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:23-cr-00036
Judge: Arenda L. Wright Allen
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Norfolk County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Norfolk
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Norfolk, Virginia criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered firearm in violation of the national firearms act.
Trashawn Newsome, 21, was in possession of a machine gun on October 6, 2022. That day, Chesapeake Police officers were investigating a vehicle reported stolen in the vicinity of Camelot Boulevard. Newsome was observed speaking with the occupants of the stolen vehicle. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle and ordered Newsome and another individual to the ground. The stolen vehicle fled the scene and Newsome walked back to his vehicle and put an item into the car through the driver’s side door before getting onto the ground. Officers observed a firearm magazine on the ground inches away from Newsome as he was being detained. A narcotics K9 conducted an open-air sniff around his vehicle and alerted to the front driver’s side door. Officers recovered from the vehicle approximately 120 grams marijuana; a scale; plastic baggies; and a Glock 22, Gen 4 semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine and an attached component that converted the handgun into a fully automatic gun.
Newsome is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Mark G. Solesky, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Cheney is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’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. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
26 U.S.C. 5841 provides:
(a) Central registryThe Secretary shall maintain a central registry of all firearms in the United States which are not in the possession or under the control of the United States. This registry shall be known as the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The registry shall include—
(1) identification of the firearm;
(2) date of registration; and
(3) identification and address of person entitled to possession of the firearm.
(b) By whom registered
Each manufacturer, importer, and maker shall register each firearm he manufactures, imports, or makes. Each firearm transferred shall be registered to the transferee by the transferor.
(c) How registered
Each manufacturer shall notify the Secretary of the manufacture of a firearm in such manner as may by regulations be prescribed and such notification shall effect the registration of the firearm required by this section. Each importer, maker, and transferor of a firearm shall, prior to importing, making, or transferring a firearm, obtain authorization in such manner as required by this chapter or regulations issued thereunder to import, make, or transfer the firearm, and such authorization shall effect the registration of the firearm required by this section.
(d) Firearms registered on effective date of this Act
A person shown as possessing a firearm by the records maintained by the Secretary pursuant to the National Firearms Act in force on the day immediately prior to the effective date of the National Firearms Act of 1968 [1] shall be considered to have registered under this section the firearms in his possession which are disclosed by that record as being in his possession.
(e) Proof of registration
A person possessing a firearm registered as required by this section shall retain proof of registration which shall be made available to the Secretary upon request.
26 U.S.C. 5861 provides:
It shall be unlawful for any person—
(a) to engage in business as a manufacturer or importer of, or dealer in, firearms without having paid the special (occupational) tax required by section 5801 for his business or having registered as required by section 5802; or
(b) to receive or possess a firearm transferred to him in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or
(c) to receive or possess a firearm made in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or
(d) to receive or possess a firearm which is not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; or
(e) to transfer a firearm in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or
(f) to make a firearm in violation of the provisions of this chapter; or
(g) to obliterate, remove, change, or alter the serial number or other identification of a firearm required by this chapter; or
(h) to receive or possess a firearm having the serial number or other identification required by this chapter obliterated, removed, changed, or altered; or
(i) to receive or possess a firearm which is not identified by a serial number as required by this chapter; or
(j) to transport, deliver, or receive any firearm in interstate commerce which has not been registered as required by this chapter; or
(k) to receive or possess a firearm which has been imported or brought into the United States in violation of section 5844; or
(l) to make, or cause the making of, a false entry on any application, return, or record required by this chapter, knowing such entry to be false.
26 U.S.C. 2871 provides:
Any person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000, or be imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Outcome: Defendant pled guilty.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: