FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 8, 2011
FAYETTE COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL FIREARM POSSESSION CHARGE
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Sidney Guy Owens, 33, of Minden, Fayette County, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today in federal court before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. to being a felon in possession of a firearm. On November 21, 2009, Owens attempted to sell three stolen firearms to an undercover West Virginia State trooper in Oak Hill, West Virginia. Owens was prohibited from possessing firearms by virtue of his aggravated robbery conviction in the Circuit Court of Wood County in 1998 and grand larceny and escape convictions in the Circuit Court of Pocahontas County in 2001.
Owens faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on February 2, 2012.
This case was investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney John File is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being 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.
# # #
