Springfield Career Criminal Sentenced on Federal Firearms Charges

BOSTON – A convicted felon was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Springfield for illegally possessing a Smith & Wesson handgun and ammunition.

Randy Rivera, 36, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor to 15 years in prison and four years of supervised release.  In December 2014, Rivera pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.  Rivera had an extensive criminal history at the time of his gun possession which qualified him as a federal armed career criminal.

On Jan. 4, 2013, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rivera’s residence in Springfield.  Officers found a Smith & Wesson, model M&P 9C, 9mm pistol, and 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition in a hidden compartment behind his bedroom headboard.  The handgun, with a loaded high capacity magazine, was attached to a magnet for quick access.  The officers also found $132,531 in cash hidden in the bedroom and a closet.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in New England; and Michael J. Ferguson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Regan of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.