Boston Man Sentenced For Carrying Firearm At Public Transportation Station
Sunday, January 5, 2025, 7:15 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BOSTON, MA.- A 51-year-old Boston, Massachusetts, man who has spent a little over the past four years in federal custody was sentenced on Thursday to time served plus ten days for carrying a loaded handgun at a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Sub-Station in Boston, Massachusetts, and other federal firearms offenses.
According to U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy, on Thursday, January 2, 2025, Pepo Herd El, also known as Pepo Wamchawi Herd, 51, of the Dorchester section of Boston, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to time served plus 10 days, totaling around 49 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for previously entered guilty plea.
In December 2024, Heard El pleaded guilty to two counts of Being a Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Herd El was initially arrested on Thanksgiving Day 2020 and has remained in federal custody.
According to charging information filed with the District Court, about one year before his Thanksgiving Day 2020 arrest, Herd El made online firearms-related purchases, which included a laser sight and a concealable handgun holster. He also purchased extended high-capacity magazines and a Glock firing pin safety, which reduced the force needed to pull the trigger.
During his arrest and subsequent court proceedings, Herd El claimed Sovereign Immunity, claiming he was a sovereign citizen, which barred him from prosecution.
Herd El Arrested At Bus Station
On November 26, 2020, Herd El boarded a bus from his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to the Ruggles Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station. At the station, He was detained and searched pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant that law enforcement obtained during an ongoing investigation into his online firearms purchases.
During the search, law enforcement officers found a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun, a laser sight, three additional magazines, 45 rounds of ammunition, a knife, and an infrared camera. Herd El was also wearing a bulletproof vest and a jacket that had security written on the front and back. During questioning, Herd El told law enforcement officers that he was on his way to Thanksgiving dinner.
A Search Of Herd El’s Home Uncovers Ammunition
After the search of Herd El’s person, a subsequent court-authorized search of Herd El’s residence uncovered another magazine loaded with armor-piercing rounds, as well as multiple drawings of gun barrel designs, firearms silencers, and bullets on the walls. Officers also found various tools that could be utilized to manufacture ammunition, a chemistry book containing handwritten notes about multiple materials needed to manufacture TNT and C-4 explosives was also recovered from his home.
Because of multiple 2004 Massachusetts state convictions for possessing firearms without permits and other crimes. Herd El knew when he possessed the loaded firearm on Thanksgiving Day, 2020, he was prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition,
