Leominster Man Pleads Guilty To Firearms Offenses

BOSTON – A Leominster man was convicted Friday in U.S. District Court in Worcester for various firearms offenses.

Benjamin Batista, 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman to being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition, and possession of an unregistered firearm silencer. Sentencing is scheduled for June 13, 2013. For the charges of possessing a firearm and ammunition, the sentence under the statute is a maximum of 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. For the charge of possessing a silencer, the sentence under the statute is a maximum of 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.

In November 2010, Batista, a previously convicted felon, arranged for the sale of a semiautomatic firearm to a cooperating witness. On Dec. 20, 2010, Batista sold a silencer and 43 rounds of ammunition for the semiautomatic firearm to the same cooperating witness. The silencer was not registered to Batista in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

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; John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Chief Robert A. DeMoura of the Fitchburg Police Department; and Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett and Cory Flashner of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.