By: Richard L. Smith
A judge sentenced a Newburgh, New York man to over three years in prison for possessing a stolen and loaded firearm that he tried to get through security at Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Federal officials said Desmond Herring, 48, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and one count of carrying a weapon on an aircraft.
Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Nov. 29, 2021, Herring submitted a carry-on bag for inspection at Newark Liberty International Airport. While screening Herring’s luggage, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent identified ammunition and a suspected firearm and contacted the Port Authority Police Department.
Upon seeing that his bag had attracted additional attention, Herring left the security checkpoint area without his bag and walked to a departure gate for his flight to Atlanta, Georgia.
Further investigation of Herring’s bag revealed that it contained a 9-millimeter pistol, 10tenounds of 9-millimeter ammunition loaded into a magazine, and 150 additional 9-millimeter ammunition.
Herring was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a 2010 federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Herring to two years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; officers of the Port Authority Police Department, under the direction of Superintendent Edward Cetnar; and officers of the TSA with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing