1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist

June 22, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Harrison County Resident Entered Guilty Plea
to Firearms Violation

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 24 year old Harrison County, West Virginia, resident entered a plea of guilty on June 17, 2011, in United States District Court in Clarksburg before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that MICHAEL LOREN GRIFFITH, a convicted felon, entered a plea of guilty to one count of an Indictment charging him with knowingly possessing a firearm on November 23, 2010, in Bridgeport, West Virginia.

GRIFFITH, who is in custody, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn Angus Morgan. The case was investigated by the Harrison County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. The Task Force consists of officers from the Clarksburg Police Department, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, and the Bridgeport Police Department.