Eastern Panhandle man sentenced for firearms charge

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Raymond Hoak, of Kearnysville, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 41 months incarceration for a firearms charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Hoak, age 42, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm” in November 2018. Hoak, having previously been convicted of a felony, admitted to having five .22-caliber rifles, a .22-250 rifle, a .300-caliber rifle, a .380-caliber pistol, and another rifle in June 2018 in Jefferson 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.

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

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.