A Hyannis man admitted to a serious violation of federal law, owning up to being in possession of a firearm despite a criminal record that expressly forbid it. Ryan Diefenbach, a 33-year-old resident, entered his guilty plea on the count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to the press release by the Department of Justice, the guilty plea was received by U.S. Senior District Judge William G. Young, who has set the sentencing for October 16th. Indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2022 alongside co-defendant Donnell Pina, Diefenbach's plea comes following an incident where, alongside the allegedly involved Pina, they possessed and sold a Chinese SKS .762 caliber rifle to a confidential informant in Hyannis during September 2021.
The background check of Diefenbach is not light, carrying with it the weight of past misdemeanors and felonies that includes carrying a firearm without a license, and assault with a dangerous weapon among others. This history renders him ineligible to bear arms. The charge on which he is now awaiting sentencing could result in a maximum of 10 years in prison, the possibility of up to three years of supervised release, and a fine reaching up to $250,000.
This case is a facet of Project Safe Neighborhoods, aiming to bring down gun violence, which made the announcement alongside Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and James M. Ferguson, the Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division. While Diefenbach has chosen to plead guilty, the allegations within the indictment concerning Pina continue to cling to the presumption of innocence until potentially proved otherwise in the eyes of the law. The strategy for violent crime reduction launched on May 26, 2021, is to shore up PSN, based on fostering stakeholder trust, backing organizations aimed at violence prevention, and sharpened enforcement priorities.
