WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A Clarksburg, West Virginia man has admitted today to illegally purchasing a firearm, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Michael Lewis Woodyard, age 26, pled guilty to one count of “False Statement to Acquire a Firearm." He admitted to making a false statement when purchasing two pistols in Harrison County in March 2017.
Woodyard faces up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department investigated.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
