Berkeley County man indicted for firearms violation

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Nathan Johnson, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Martinsburg on January 23, 2019 for a firearms violation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Johnson, age 42, is charged with two counts of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” Johnson, a person prohibited from having firearms, is accused of possessing an unregistered .410 caliber short-barreled shotgun, as well as 33 other firearms. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in March 2017 in Berkeley County.

Johnson faces up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Project Safe Neighborhoods is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Finucane is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. 

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.