Williamson man sentenced for Federal gun crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto announced that a Williamson man was sentenced today in federal court in to two and a half years in prison for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Lance Leonard Ward, 25, previously pleaded guilty in September of 2015 to the federal gun crime.

Ward admitted that on April 21, 2015, he possessed an Armscor Firestorm FSR .38 caliber revolver. In 2011, Ward was convicted in Mingo County Magistrate Court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. As a result of that conviction, he was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law. 

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Williamson Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.

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