Hyannis man pleads guilty to possession of gas-operated, semi-automatic rifle

A Hyannis man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to possession of a gas-operated, semi-automatic carbine rifle, according to the United States Attorney's Office.

Ryan Diefenbach, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm before U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office press release.

The case has been ongoing since November 2022, when Diefenbach, and a co-defendant Donnell Pina, were indicted by a federal grand jury, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, in September 2021, Pina and Diefenbach allegedly tried to sell a Chinese SKS .762 caliber rifle to a confidential informant. Pina's case is still pending.

Due to multiple previous felony convictions for heroin trafficking in 2007, 2013 and 2014, Pina is considered an armed career criminal prohibited from possessing guns, according to a November 2022 release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Diefenbach is also prohibited from possessing guns due to previous felony convictions, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Diefenbach will be sentenced on Oct. 16, and the case has become part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program focused on reducing gun violence and other violent crimes. The charge of being a felon in possession carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the Department of Justice.

The U.S. Attorney's Office didn't immediately return the Times' calls for comment.

What is Safe Neighborhoods?

Project Safe Neighborhoods was launched in 2001, and is coordinated by the U.S. Attorney's Office, according to its website. The program, which runs in 94 federal judicial districts throughout the U.S. and its territories, brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders and other stakeholders to identify violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them, according to the Department of Justice.

The program, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, is designed to foster trust and legitimacy in communities, support community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, and sets focused and strategic enforcement priorities.

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Hyannis man pleads guilty to possessing Chinese SKS .762 caliber rifle