Nashua Man Gets 18 Months On Firearms Charge

NASHUA, NH — A local man was sentenced to a year and a half in jail and three years of supervised release after his sentence on a firearm charge. Ryan Faulconer, 25, received the 18 month sentence on March 21, 2018, for illegally possession firearms while using controlled drugs. According to the evidence in the case, during a two week period between April and May 2016, he purchased eight firearms.

At the time of the purchases, Faulconer was prohibited from possessing firearms by federal law due to an ongoing addiction to opioids and falsely stated on his paperwork that he was not addicted to any controlled substances. Later in May 2016, he admitted to an addiction and was only able to produce one of the firearms. The other seven, Faulconer claimed, were stolen.

“In order to combat violent crime, we must ensure that guns do not fall into the wrong hands,” said U.S. Attorney Scott Murray. “We will work closely with our law enforcement partners to enforce federal gun laws in order to keep our communities safe.”

Faulconer pleaded guilty in October 2017.

“The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is committed to targeting prohibited individuals from possessing and trafficking in firearms,” said Mickey Leadingham, ATF Special Agent in Charge Field of the Boston Field Division. “ATF will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to eliminate these type of crimes and remove firearms from illegal commerce.”

The case is part of ATF’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which is a federally-funded program intended to reduce gun violence through law enforcement training, public education, and aggressive law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute gun-related crimes.

According to previous posts online, Faulconer was a fugitive of the week in March 2017, on a bail violation after being arrested on the weapon charge. He was arrested in Salem in June 2017. He was also arrested in Westford in July 2013, for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. He was also arrested in Nashua in December 2011, for disorderly conduct.

Image via U.S. Marshals Service.