JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Tommie Willie Towns, 41, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey to four years and three months in federal prison without parole.

On July 12, 2010, Towns pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Towns was arrested by law enforcement officers following the execution of a search warrant at his apartment on Nov. 18, 2009. Officers found a loaded Lorcin .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol lying on the arm of the couch and a plate with a line of heroin on the coffee table.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Towns has two prior felony convictions for tampering, two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, and prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Berry. It was investigated by the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department, MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team And Narcotics Group), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

 

 

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