By: Richard L. Smith
A Mercer County man has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for illegally possessing ammunition connected to a 2022 Trenton shooting, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Rashon Lawery, 27, of Trenton, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner to unlawful possession of 26 rounds of 9mm ammunition as a convicted felon.
According to court documents and statements, on May 23, 2022, Trenton police responded to a shooting that left three people injured with non-life-threatening wounds. Officers recovered six 9mm shell casings at the scene.
During a foot chase through a local park, Lawery discarded a ghost gun — an unserialized semiautomatic pistol — equipped with a 32-round magazine loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition.
Ballistics testing later confirmed that the shell casings at the shooting scene matched Lawery’s firearm.
In addition to the seven-year prison term, Judge Castner sentenced Lawery to three years of supervised release.