NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

JANUARY 23, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROJECT CEASEFIRE

INDEPENDENCE MAN SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm. Today’s sentencing is a result of Project Ceasefire, the district’s ongoing anti-crime initiative.

John M Schutz, 51, of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs this morning to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 26, 2006, Schutz pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Schutz was arrested at his home on May 23, 2006. Law enforcement officers recovered a Ruger .22-caliber revolver, along with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, while executing an outstanding Jackson County arrest warrant for sale of a controlled substance.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Ceasefire

Project Ceasefire, launched in October 1999, is a cooperative initiative by federal and local law enforcement and the Kansas City Crime Commission that targets for federal prosecution persons who unlawfully use or possess firearms.

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