Tazewell Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms Charges

Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A Tazewell woman, who illegally purchased firearms for her son and lied about the purchases, pled guilty yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon to a pair of federal charges, Acting United States Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Glenna Elswick, 50, pled guilty yesterday to one count of making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer and one count of providing a firearm to a prohibited person.

According to evidence presented at yesterday’s guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee, between October 2016 and February 2017, Elswick purchased at least seven firearms for her son, Matthew Elswick, who is prohibited from owning firearms due to his status as a previously convicted felon. In the process of purchasing the firearms, Elswick made false statements on ATF forms stating she was buying the firearms for her own use.

The investigation of the case was conducted by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee prosecuted the case for the United States.