Worcester man faces prison time after pleading guilty to weapons possession
WORCESTER - A Worcester man linked to gang activity in 2017 through graffiti spray-painted in 19 different locations pleaded guilty to felony firearms possession in U.S. District Court Friday.
Lawrence Rutherford, 37, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni set a sentencing date for July 7, 2023.
Rutherford was indicted on the weapons charges in October 2019 after officials executed a federal search warrant in June that turned up two guns and 600 rounds of ammunition.
According to a release from U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins' office, Massachusetts District, Rutherford is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior convictions punishable by more than one year in person. Rutherford faces up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 at his July sentencing.
Rutherford was arrested in 2017 and charged with 19 counts of defacing property after he allegedly wrote "Banga" - his street name - along with "LSP," "LincSet" and other references to city gangs on businesses and homes.
Local police worked for two months to identify “Banga,” who tagged businesses on Grafton and Lincoln streets repeatedly, even after owners cleaned the graffiti from their properties. The Worcester Police Department's gang unit led the investigation due to the painted gang references included in the graffiti. Officers identified the suspect from surveillance footage.
Rollins; James M. Ferguson, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Worcester police Chief Steven M. Sargent made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Greg A. Friedholm and John T. Mulcahy of Rollins’ criminal division are prosecuting the case.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester tagger to be sentenced in July for weapons, ammo possession
