1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist

 

June 8, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Moundsville Resident Indicted on
Federal Firearms Violations

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — A 23 year old Moundsville, West Virginia, resident was named in an Indictment returned on June 2, 2009, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Wheeling, West Virginia.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that JOANNE M. WHIPKEY was named in a two-count Indictment. Count One of the Indictment alleges that WHIPKEY, in connection with the acquisition of a firearm on July 26, 2007, in Wheeling, knowingly represented that she was the buyer of the firearm when she was actually acting as a straw purchaser on behalf of a prohibited purchaser. Count Two of the Indictment alleges that WHIPKEY made a fraudulent statement and representations on September 13, 2007, in Moundsville, to Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives concerning her illegal purchase of a firearm on July 26, 2007, in Wheeling.

If convicted, WHIPKEY faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count One of the Indictment; and a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count Two of the Indictment.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.