Felon caught with two handguns avoids long prison term

A Fitchburg man who spent six years in prison for a battery and shooting in 2003 avoided a long federal prison sentence Tuesday for being caught with two handguns in October 2011. Prior crimes in Massachusetts by Juan M. Gonzalez-Ruiz, 36, did not qualify him as an armed career criminal, U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled. With that ruling, Conley sentenced Gonzalez-Ruiz to three years and one month in prison instead of the 15-year minimum he could have faced. Full Story: Wisconsin State Journal

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Carlie replied on

I'm not really sure what to make of this story. It seems like the guy's previous crimes were violent and with weapons, he has spent a good amount of time in prison already and he is driving around Madison with loaded guns in his car but he only gets 3 years time? What was it that changed the prosecution from a State level to a Federal one?

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