December 20, 2007

ELMORE MAN SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR GUN POSSESSION

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Dwight Lipsey, 19, of Elmore, was sentenced yesterday to imprisonment for 18 months on his plea of guilty to possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a felony. United States District Judge J. Garvan Murtha, sitting in Rutland, ordered also that Lipsey serve two years of supervised release after his release from prison.

According to court records, Lipsey unlawfully possessed a gun on December 24, 2006 in Washington County. Shortly before midnight, Berlin Police Department Sgt. Mark Monteith stopped a vehicle being driven by Lipsey for erratic operation. After finding Lipsey in possession of marijuana and obtaining consent to search the vehicle, the officer located a Colt .45 caliber pistol under the driver’s seat. Lipsey subsequently admitted that he had hidden the gun when signaled to stop by the police. Lipsey had been previously convicted of aggravated assault, a felony, in Washington County on February 10, 2005.

United States Attorney Thomas D. Anderson commended the cooperative effort of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Berlin Police Department in the investigation of this crime. Lipsey was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Robert A. Fellrath. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig S. Nolan.

United States Attorney Anderson noted also that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood, a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and ATF, Project Safe Neighborhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who violate federal gun laws. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhood and Project Safe Vermont, please visit: www.psn.gov.