Grant County man sentenced for firearms violation

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – William Jonathan Turner, of Petersburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 46 months incarceration for a firearms charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Turner, age 40, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of Firearms” in January 2020. Turner, a person prohibited from having a firearm, admitted to having three pistols and a rifle in March 2018 in Hampshire 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 Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the West Virginia State Police, and the Potomac Highlands Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. 

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