A Boston man was sentenced in federal court for illegal possession of a firearm. Tyrone Goforth, aged 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to time served, equivalent to 66 months and one day, followed by three years of supervised release. Goforth had pleaded guilty in February 2025 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, following his indictment by a federal grand jury in October 2020.
The incident occurred on July 31, 2020, when officers responded to a report of a person with a gun at a Roxbury bookstore. Goforth, matching the description of a man wearing a black shirt and olive pants, was found with a loaded Sig Sauer P938 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Due to a 2000 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court, Goforth was prohibited from possessing firearms.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program focused on reducing gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement and communities. The Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy in May 2021 to enhance PSN, emphasizing trust in communities, support for community-based violence prevention, strategic enforcement priorities, and measurable outcomes. Further details about Project Safe Neighborhoods can be accessed at Justice.gov/PSN.