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Press Release

Outlaws Motorcycle Club Regional President Sentenced for Firearms Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – The regional president of the Brockton/East Bridgewater Chapters of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club was sentenced today for the possession of an unregistered firearm.

Bruce Sartwell, a/k/a “Monster,” 48, of East Bridgewater, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 27 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. In July 2020, Sartwell pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm and 153 rounds of 5.56 caliber ammunition.

On Oct. 19, 2019, agents intercepted a package originating in China and addressed to Sartwell that was declared as a “Fuel Filter” but actually contained a firearm silencer. A review of importation records revealed that Sartwell had received approximately 65 shipments from Asia (including over 55 from China), many of which were labeled as innocuous items that could have been more easily and cheaply purchased in the United States. During the investigation, law enforcement determined that Sartwell was the Regional President of the Brockton/East Bridgewater Chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

During an Oct. 30, 2019 search of Sartwell’s residence, agents observed over a dozen airsoft guns in Sartwell’s garage that, despite their realistic appearance, were determined not to be firearms. Hidden in the garage was a homemade AR-15 styled “ghost gun” (a firearm without any manufacturing or serial numbers), and two empty 30 round magazines. Also within the garage were guides showing how to build an AR-15 rifle along with tools and additional parts to assemble the same. The AR-15 was later successfully test fired. An additional hidden compartment was located in Sartwell’s garage containing a firearm silencer and silencer parts.

In addition, a hide in Sartwell’s bedroom nightside table concealed 153 rounds of 5.56 caliber ammunition compatible with the AR-15 styled rifle, 20 knives, a black powder handgun and a flare gun. In the basement of the house, a floor-length mirror concealed the entrance to a hidden storage area that was found to contain a safe with silencer parts and a firearm assembly instruction book.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Customs and Boarder Protection; Massachusetts State Police; East Bridgewater Police Department; Bristol County Sheriff’s Office; and the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey E. Weinstein and Kenneth G. Shine of Mendell’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

Updated March 31, 2021

Topic
Firearms Offenses