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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
June 11, 2008
NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS REPORTED CRIME THAT LED TO 10-YEAR FEDERAL SENTENCE
TOPEKA, KAN. – Lance Edward Fitzmaurice, 47, Topeka, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possession of a stolen firearm.
In March, Fitzmaurice pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a stolen firearm. In his plea, he admitted that Topeka police were called on Sept. 4, 2006, when neighborhood children reported seeing a man brandishing a handgun. The children had noticed the man changing tags on an automobile and told him they knew what he was doing.
Police found the car nearby and arrested Fitzmaurice. In the car they found a Rohm brand .22 caliber revolver. When they checked the serial number, they found that the gun had been stolen from Jacksonville, Fla., in 1977.
U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren commended the Topeka Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot for their work on the case.
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