Jefferson County man indicted on firearms charges

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Aaron Patrick Stamets, of Charles Town, West Virginia, was indicted today on firearms charges, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.

Stamets, 42, was indicted on two counts of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” Stamets, a person prohibited from having a firearm, is accused of having two firearms in June and August of 2020 in Jefferson County. 

Stamets faces up to 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. 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.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.