Worcester Man Sentenced for Unlawful Firearm Posession (DOJ)

BOSTON - A Worcester man was sentenced today for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Joan Rosado Maldonado, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Rosado Maldonado was also ordered to forfeit a firearm and ammunition. In March 2024, Rosado Maldonado pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition.

Shortly after midnight on Sept. 10, 2021, law enforcement observed Rosado Maldonado standing on Main Street in Worcester, outside of a high-rise apartment building located across the street from the federal courthouse. Officers observed Rosado Maldonado raise his arm to the sky and, as they drove away, heard the ring of a gunshot. The officers immediately turned around and returned to the apartment building, where they apprehended Rosado Maldonado as he attempted to enter an elevator. During a subsequent search of his person, Rosado Maldonado was found in possession of a semi-automatic .40 caliber pistol with its serial number removed, loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition, including one in the chamber. The spent casing from the shooting was found on the street outside of the apartment building.

Rosado Maldonado is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to multiple prior convictions of crimes punishable by more than one year in prison, including armed assault to murder and assault and battery by dangerous weapon and cocaine trafficking.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Paul B. Saucier, Interim Chief of the Worcester Police Department made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen M. Noto, Chief of the Worcester Branch Office, prosecuted the case.