Massachusetts man sentenced for firearm possession after smoking marijuana in parked car in Biddeford

A Massachusetts man was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Jermaine Gillespie, 31, to 72 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gillespie pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine.

In September 2022, Biddeford police officers responded to a report of a person smoking marijuana in a parked car, according to court records. Police identified Gillespie and learned he had existing bail conditions that prohibited the use or possession of marijuana.

 

Police searched the car and found a 9 mm pistol. Gillespie is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior convictions including a 2013 conviction in Massachusetts for assault and battery with serious bodily injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and carrying a dangerous weapon.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with assistance from the Biddeford Police Department, according to the press release.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and to make neighborhoods safer.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.