Hells Angels Member Sentenced For Illegal Firearm Possession

BOSTON – A Lynn man was sentenced to 21 years in prison yesterday for possessing a firearm and ammunition.

Eric Franco, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise Casper to 262 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. In September 2012, Franco was convicted after a jury trial of possessing a firearm and ammunition after receiving a felony conviction.

On May 3, 2011, Franco, the sergeant-at-arms of the Lynn chapter of the Hells Angels, was found by Lynn Police to be in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The weapon was discovered when Lynn Police were called to the apartment Franco shared with his girlfriend and her child after receiving a report that Franco assaulted his girlfriend. Franco’s criminal record in Massachusetts includes three convictions for assault and battery by a dangerous weapon, as well as convictions for indecent assault and battery, failure to register as a sex offender, breaking and entering at night with intent to commit a felony, and conspiracy to violate the controlled substances act. Franco also was convicted in Arkansas for battery in the second degree in a case in which Franco and five other members of the Hells Angels assaulted and stabbed four members of another motorcycle gang.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Eugenio A. Marquez, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Boston Field Division, and Lynn Police Chief Kevin F. Coppinger made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne M. Sullivan and David G. Tobin of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.