United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha announced the conviction of Marquis L. Brewster, 26, today; the 12th person sentenced in federal court in Providence in an on-going two-year joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Woonsocket Police into firearm trafficking and drug crimes in Woonsocket. Brewster pled guilty as charged by indictment Monday to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and information presented to the Court, on October 13, 2009, Brewster went to an ATF undercover apartment in Woonsocket and illegally sold a .32 caliber firearm to an informant for $300. The transaction was recorded by both audio and video equipment.

Brewster, whose felony criminal record includes convictions for drug trafficking and other crimes, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 7 by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison followed by up to 3 years of supervised release.

Neronha visited Woonsocket earlier this month to speak about the investigation, which has resulted in the arrests of 16 individuals in and around the city on drugs and firearms charges. Guy N. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Boston Field Office; Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin; and Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas S. Carey disclosed the on-going operation which has led to the seizure of more than three dozen illegal firearms, and the seizure of substantial amounts of crack cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy pills and hits of acid. The investigation has also resulted in the arrest of two defendants on state charges.

The federal court cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gerard B. Sullivan and Richard W. Rose.