A 34-year-old Ludlow man has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for falsifying information during the purchase of two semi-automatic rifles. 

Richard Hemingway stood before a judge for sentencing in U.S. District Court in Bangor on Wednesday, according to U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank.

Court records show that on October 4, 2017, Hemingway purchased two AR-15 style rifles from a federally licensed firearms dealer.  In doing so, he completed a Firearms Transaction Record form in which he falsely reported that he was the actual purchaser of the rifles. In fact, Hemingway was buying the guns for David Allen Polchies of Woodstock, New Brunswick.

Later that day, officers with the Canada Border Services Agency arrested Polchies and Sharon Weeks after they crossed the border from Houlton. Agents say the couple attempted to smuggle the rifles, several high-capacity drum magazines, and 350 rounds of ammunition into Canada. Polchies and Weeks were prosecuted in New Brunswick and were each sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Hemingway pleaded guilty on August 21, 2018. In addition to the prison term, he was sentenced to two years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the CBSA.  The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.

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