Gary Craig

@gcraig1

A Department of Homeland Security agent who lives in Brighton and left his .223-caliber rifle in the backseat of his car overnight had the firearm stolen, and it may now be in the hands of a drug dealer, federal agents allege.

Russell Lawrence, a heroin addict, has admitted that he stole the gun — a Colt M4 — and a "tactical police vest" in September and later sold them to a drug dealer, court papers say.

The items were stolen from the marked DHS vehicle of Homeland Security Officer Leroy Doctor, who "had left his machine gun laying on the back seat of the vehicle," according to an affidavit from Sean Martineck, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF.

While Doctor thought he had locked his car, the rear doors were apparently unlocked, the affidavit states.

Lawrence was arrested on Nov. 6 after allegedly stealing a car in Parma and crashing it into a tree.

In a subsequent interview with Martineck, he allegedly admitted that he stole the gun and vest, and "drove them to a drug dealer he knew in the City of Rochester." He said the drug dealer paid him the equivalent of $750 — half in cash and half in heroin — for the gun and vest.

Lawrence said he wanted to unload the gun because of the "type of charges" associated with possession, according to court papers.

Lawrence first appeared in federal court Thursday and is scheduled to return Tuesday. He is accused of illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He has previous attempted burglary, criminal possession of stolen property, and grand larceny felonies.

GCRAIG@Gannett.com