Dayton Man Sentenced to 73 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearms

DAYTON – Travis Matthews, 28, of Dayton was sentenced here today to 73 months in prison for possession of a firearm after having been previously been convicted of a felony offense.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Joseph P. Reagan, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Field Division, and Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl, announced the sentenced imposed today by United States District Judge Walter H. Rice.

Matthews pleaded guilty in July 2015 after being charged in a one-count bill of information with possessing a Cobra .380 caliber pistol.  Matthews was on parole in 2013 for prior drug convictions, when adult parole authorities searched his home and discovered a total of four weapons, three of which were stolen. With three prior felony convictions, including two for possession of cocaine in 2006 and 2009 and one for trafficking heroin in 2009, Matthews is prohibited from possessing firearms.

Matthews was ordered to serve three years on supervised release following his prison term.

“Matthews poses a risk to the safety of the community because of his continuing criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart. “Such lack of respect for the law requires deterrence in the form of a lengthy prison sentence.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by DEA agents, Dayton Police investigators, and Ohio Adult Parole Authority officers, and Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Hunt, who prosecuted the case.