Department of Justice

DAYTON, Ohio – A 19-year-old Dayton man pleaded guilty in federal court here today to possessing a gun in the parking lot of an area middle school.

Jacob Ruff Jr. admitted he possessed a firearm on the grounds of Edwin Joel Brown Middle School on May 12.

According to court documents, ballistics were collected from the scene and sent to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) when Dayton police officers responded to a shots fired call in the parking lot of the school. Security footage of the school implicated Ruff in the crime.

On May 31, Ruff was arrested after fleeing from law enforcement at the site of a loud block party in a public roadway. Once he was apprehended, officers discovered a gun in his fanny pack.

Agents with the ATF test fired the weapon and submitted shell casings to NIBIN, which matched the shell casings collected at Edwin Joel Brown Middle School.

Ruff was charged federally in June.

Possessing a firearm in a school zone is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence, and sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court at a future hearing based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Through the violent-crime reduction program, stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders.

Kenneth L. Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; John Nokes, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal announced the guilty plea offered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline H. Gentry. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Saunders is representing the United States in this case.

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