NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BETH PHILLIPS

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

www.usdoj.gov../index.html

APRIL15, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROJECT CEASEFIRE

BLUE SPRINGS MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS

FOR ILLEGAL FIREARMS

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Blue Springs, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing firearms.

            Wesley T. Frasher, 40, of Blue Springs, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Frasher was sentenced as a career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.

            On Oct. 26, 2009, Frasher pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of two firearms. Frasher was arrested on March 25, 2008, following a vehicle stop. Police officers found an Amadeo Rossi .22-caliber rifle wrapped in an army coat in the back seat of his vehicle and an Arminius .22-caliber revolver in a black backpack in the trunk.

            Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Frasher has two prior felony convictions for distributing a controlled substance and a prior felony conviction for burglary.

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Clark. It was investigated by the Independence, 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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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

http://www.justice.gov../index.html