Berkeley County man sentenced for firearms charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – William Ronald Monroe, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 120 months incarceration for a firearms charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Monroe, age 39, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of Firearm” in October 2019. Monroe, having been previously convicted of a felony, admitted to having a 9mm pistol and a .380 caliber pistol in August 2017 in Berkeley County.
 
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.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Martinsburg Police Department investigated.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.