Jackson, Miss. - Matthew J. Underwood, 45, of Walnut Grove, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On August 7, 2018, officers were conducting a residence check of Underwood’s home when they discovered a loaded 12 gauge shotgun and a box of 12 gauge shotgun shells. Underwood had previously been convicted of assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer by use of a firearm and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm twice. He was on parole for a Scott County conviction when the instant offense occurred.
Underwood will be sentenced on May 22, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Reeves, and faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Sebastopol Police Department, the Mississippi Department of Corrections, and the Leake County Sheriff’s Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
