Repeat offender pleads guilty to ammunition possession in connection with Brooklyn shootings

December 27, 2023 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

Leo Oliver, a 43-year-old from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing after he pleaded guilty to ammunition possession in Brooklyn federal court.
Photo courtesy of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the EDNY

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A 43-year-old from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Dec. 20 to possessing ammunition as a felon, linked to two non-fatal shootings in East New York.

U.S. District Court Judge Dora Irizarry presided over the proceedings for Leo Oliver, who has a history of multiple felonies, and now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, along with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the guilty plea.

“With today’s plea, the community can begin to heal from the callous violence the defendant brazenly inflicted in public places,” Peace said. “My office is deeply committed to holding repeat offenders who engage in gun violence, like the defendant, fully accountable for their actions.”

Oliver’s criminal acts spanned over two years in the East New York area. His first known shooting occurred on July 8, 2020, at a bodega on New Lots Avenue. Following a dispute, Oliver shot the victim, an employee, in the chest and hand, escaping in a white SUV. The second shooting happened on September 25, 2021, on Van Siclen Avenue, where Oliver, after an argument, shot another victim in the torso.

Post-shooting investigations revealed Oliver’s attempts to cover his tracks. He deleted images of firearms from his cell phone and disposed of the weapon used in the 2020 shooting. Further incriminating evidence included text messages where Oliver expressed his willingness to serve jail time for the shootings.

Oliver’s criminal history is extensive, with at least 10 prior convictions, including seven felonies spanning controlled substance offenses and robbery. He is currently serving a sentence in Pennsylvania state prison for a controlled substance felony.