Department of Justice

Eight people from Northwest Ohio were indicted for firearms violations or armed robbery charges as part of a continued collaborative effort to reduce violent crime in the Toledo area.

 

Among those indicted are people accused of illegally having firearms after domestic violence convictions, making illegal straw purchases of firearms, possessing stolen firearms, armed robbery and other offenses.

 

Indicted are: Brock Andrzejak, 23, of Toledo; Marco Roane, 35, of Sandusky; Teresa Jackson, 46, of Sandusky; Filmel Williams, Jr., 19, of Toledo; Joseph Mathis, 42, of Toledo; Willie Hall, 31, of Toledo; Marcus Bailey, 34, of Toledo, and James Robert Morgan, 33, of Bryan.

 

“These cases involve people who are not allowed to have firearms because of past crimes, such as domestic violence, as well as people lying to get guns or obtaining stolen weapons,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said. “We will continue to work with police and federal agencies through Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Public Safety Partnership programs to make Toledo and Northwest Ohio safer.”

 

“Reducing gun crime is one of ATF’s core missions,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson. “We are committed to working with our partners at the federal, state, and local level to investigate crime guns as well as identify and remove the most violent criminals from our streets.”

 

“While any one of these individual indictments on their own may not seem like a significant blow to overall violent crime, it is the totality of these cases that shows the significant work local and federal law enforcement partners are doing on a daily basis to make Toledo safer” said Toledo Police Chief George Kral. “As we have stated many times in the past, we appreciate our federal partnerships and we will continue to help bring federal cases against those who wish to do others harm in our community.”

 

These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN was reinvigorated in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

 

Toledo is also a National Public Safety Partnership city, in which the Justice Department selects cities for increased training and technical assistance focused on violent crime. Toledo, as a PSP city, was also selected last year for more than $492,000 in federal funding to pay for hardware and software designed to improve information-sharing capacity.

 

Andrzejak is charged with interference with commerce by threats of violence and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Andrzejak is accused of pointing a rifle at a cashier while robbing the Stop and Go on Bennett Road in Toledo.

 

Williams is charged with four counts of possession of stolen firearms and ammunition and three counts of possession of a firearm by a person adjudicated to be mentally defective. Williams on January 2, 2019, possessed a .45-caliber pistol, a 7.62x39mm rifle, a 5.56 pistol and ammunition, knowing the firearms were stolen. He also possessed firearms despite having been adjudicated by the Wayne County (Michigan) Probate Court to be mentally defective, according to the indictment.

 

Morgan was charged with possession of a firearm by a person with prior misdemeanor domestic violence convictions. Morgan, at various points in 2018 and 2019 possessed a Ruger .22-caliber pistol, a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver, a German Sports Guns .22-caliber pistol and a Hermann Weihrauch .38-caliber revolver, despite a previous conviction for domestic violence, according to the indictment.

 

Mathis is charged with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Mathis possessed Taurus .380-caliber pistol and six rounds of ammunition on March 14, 2019, and a Smith & Wesson .380-caliber pistol and 34 rounds of ammunition on September 16, 2018, despite previous convictions for drug trafficking and possession of crack cocaine, according to the indictment.

 

Hall is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hall possessed a Smith & Wesson 40-caliber pistol and six rounds of ammunition on March 22, 2019, despite previous convictions for robbery, attempted burglary and having a weapon under disability, according to the indictment.

 

Roane and Jackson are charged with four counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. Jackson falsely represented that she was the buyer of four firearms – a Savage Arms 5.56 rifle, a Glock 9 mm pistol, a Taurus 9 mm pistol and a Radical Firearms 5.56 pistol – between August 2017 and January 2019, when, in fact, Roane was the true buyer of the firearms, according to the indictment.

 

Bailey is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bailey had a 9 mm pistol and 16 rounds of ammunition on March 20, 2019, despite previous convictions for burglary and tampering with evidence, according to the indictment.

 

If convicted, the defendants’ sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

 

The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Toledo Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Simko, Robert Melching and Ashley Futrell.

 

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The burden of proof is always on the government to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.