DETROIT MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM POSSESSION

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced that a Detroit man was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.   Alvin Leon Willis, 30, previously pleaded guilty in August.  On June 11, 2012, the defendant was approached by law enforcement officers on 14th Street in Huntington.  Willis admitted that at the time he was approached by law enforcement, he attempted throw an object to the ground.  Law enforcement recovered the object which was identified as a loaded .32 caliber revolver.  Willis was placed under arrest on a concealed weapon charge.  Law enforcement officers conducted a search of the defendant and recovered nine individual bags of a tan substance that field tested positive as heroin weighing 4.4 grams and $491 cash.  Willis admitted that he possessed the firearm and intended to sell the heroin. 
Willis was previously convicted in September 2002 in the Third Circuit Court Criminal Division, Detroit, Michigan, of delivering or manufacturing a controlled substance and did not have his rights to possess a firearm restored. 

The investigation was conducted by the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorney Gregory McVey handled the prosecution.  The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers. 

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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