Jefferson County man admits to firearms charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Aaron Patrick Stamets, of Charles Town, West Virginia, has admitted to a firearms charge, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.

Stamets, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” Stamets, a person prohibited from having a firearm, admitted to having two firearms in August of 2020 in Jefferson County. 

Stamets faces up to 10 years of 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 charge is the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep.  This initiative seeks to reduce the supply of synthetic opioids in “hot spot” areas previously identified by the Attorney General of the United States, thereby reducing drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths, and identify wholesale distribution networks and sources of supply operating nationally and internationally. 

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy D. Helman is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Charles Town Police Department investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.