MONTGOMERY COUNTY MAN CONVICTED OF
SUBMITTING FALSE APPLICATION TO BUY A HANDGUN

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Sean Omar Sherwood, 22, of 14504 Dunsinane Terrace, Silver Spring, was found guilty of submitting a false application to purchase a handgun and attempted illegal possession of a regulated firearm. The Honorable Dennis M. Sweeney in the Circuit Court for Howard County imposed a sentence of five years incarceration, all suspended, placed Sherwood on three years of supervised probation, and required him to perform 50 hours of volunteer community service.

On January 30, 2003, Sherwood attempted to buy a handgun at Atlantic Guns, Inc. in Silver Spring. On the required Federal and State application, Sherwood denied that he had ever been convicted of a crime of violence, felony, or misdemeanor crime that carried a potential period of incarceration of greater than 2 years. However, the Maryland State Police, in conducting a criminal background check of Sherwood, discovered that Sherwood had two prior convictions that prevented him from being able to lawfully purchase or possess handguns. On November 12, 1998, Sherwood was found guilty in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County of committing a third-degree sexual offense. On March 30, 2000, Sherwood was convicted in the District Court for Montgomery County for failure to register as a child sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Firearms Enforcement Section of the Maryland State Police and was prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General, Firearms Trafficking Unit, Criminal Investigations Division.

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