NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

JOHN F. WOOD

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

JUNE 27, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROJECT CEASEFIRE

KC MAN SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Gregory C. Wright, 47, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright this morning to 19 years and seven months in federal prison without parole. Wright was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his previous convictions for at least three violent felonies, including robbery, burglary, stealing and possession of a controlled substance.

On Jan. 11, 2007, Wright pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Wright admitted that he was in possession of a Savage Arms .32-caliber pistol on Nov. 14, 2005. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.

Wright was arrested on Nov. 14, 2005, when police officers responded to a call of a burglary in progress. Officers observed Wright walking around inside the house while eating a barbecue sandwich, and he was taken into custody. Officers discovered the pistol in Wright’s front pants pocket.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and 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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