Chapman Man Sentenced to 2½ Years for Illegally Possessing Handgun

Contact:  James M. Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Frank Lavway, 66, of Chapman, Maine, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. to 2½ years in prison and three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was also fined $7,500. Lavway pleaded guilty on August 18, 2015. 

Court records reveal that on September 13, 2014, a Maine State Trooper encountered the defendant at his Chapman residence carrying a loaded Derringer handgun in his pocket.  The defendant was prohibited from possessing the handgun because he had a 2009 Maine felony drug conviction.

In sentencing the defendant, Judge Woodcock found that Lavway used the handgun in connection with maintaining a drug-involved premises where bath salts had been distributed.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Maine State Police.