Salmon Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of a Firearm
POCATELLO – Thomas Cooper Lewis, 31, of Salmon, Idaho, and Pilesgrove, New Jersey, was sentenced today to three months in prison for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Lewis to serve three years of supervised release and forfeit the firearm found in his possession. He pled guilty to the charge on May 31, 2012.
According to court documents, Lewis admitted that on March 23, 2011, in Idaho, he was found in possession of a .38 caliber revolver. Lewis is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2009 conviction in Camden County, New Jersey, for possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child, felonies punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent and deter gun violence.
