Berkeley County man sentenced for illegal gun possession

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Christopher Wade Rebish, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 96 months incarceration for having a machine gun, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Rebish, age 30, pled guilty to one count of “Illegal Possession of Machine Gun” in October 2018. Rebish admitted to having a 5.7X28 mm caliber machine gun in Berkeley County in March 2017.

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 Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.

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