SAVANNAH - A Long County man is one of five defendants facing federal charges, including illegal possession of firearms, after separate indictments by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia. 

The indicted cases are being investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, to reduce violent crime with measures that include targeting convicted felons who illegally carry guns.

Wesley Rosenberg, 24, of Ludowici, was charged with engaging in the firearms business without a license and two counts of transfer of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act. The indictments, handed down by a U.S. District Court grand jury, allege Rosenberg unlawfully imported and sold firearm silencers.

“Individuals who are convicted of felonies are prohibited from possessing guns,” said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to protect the safety of our communities by identifying and removing these repeat offenders.”  

In the past four years, more than 820 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony. That charge carries a statutory penalty of up to 15 years in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

For more information from the ATF on the lawful purchasing of firearms, see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atfw-form-4473