US Attorney Neronha says prosecutions alone can't solve gun-related violence in RI

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Credit Ian Donnis

Neronha says federal prosecutors try to go after the "worst of the worst."

US Attorney Peter Neronha is Rhode Island's top federal prosecutor. His office prosecutes about 40 or so gun-related cases each year, some of them with far stiffer sentences than state prosecutions. But Neronha says prosecutions are just one part of what it will take to reduce gun-related crime. He also questions the view among some in law enforcement that federal sentencing has a stronger deterrent effect in gun cases.