Baltimore Man Sentenced To Six Years In Federal Prison For Possession Of A Firearm

U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Christopher Lovelace, a/k/a Fat Chris, age 41, of Baltimore, Maryland, to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  As part of his guilty plea, Lovelace admitted to possessing fentanyl, as well as the gun.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “All too often, guns and drugs go hand in hand—and both are killers.  Along with our local, state, and federal partners, we are committed to getting both off of our streets and to reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods.  Christopher Lovelace brought both a gun and fentanyl to our streets, and now faces the reality of six years spent in a federal prison with no suspended sentences and no parole––ever.”

According to Lovelace’s plea agreement, on August 25, 2018, a Baltimore Police Officer was observing the 600 block of East 38th Street in northern Baltimore.  The officer saw a woman walk up to the intersection of East 38th Street and Old York Road, and hand money to Lovelace.  Lovelace then walked away from the woman, towards a dark-colored GMC Yukon, and retrieved something from the front of the car.  He walked back towards the woman, and handed something to her.  The officer recognized this exchange as a drug transaction, and called in other officers to arrest Lovelace, the woman, and to secure any relevant evidence.

After Lovelace was placed under arrest, officers found U.S. currency, gelcaps containing a white powdery substance, and the keys to the GMC Yukon on his person.  During the search of the GMC Yukon, they found a loaded pistol and a clear plastic bag that contained gelcaps containing a white powdery substance, matching the ones found on Lovelace’s person.

Laboratory tests revealed that the gelcaps found on Lovelace during the search contained fentanyl.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of 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 and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.