MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Phillip Arnold Bennett, III, of Piedmont, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 120 months incarceration for a firearms violation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Bennett, age 31, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm" in January 2019. Bennett admitted to illegally possessing a.380 caliber pistol in September 2017 in Mineral County.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Project Safe Neighborhoods is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara K. Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Potomac Highlands Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the West Virginia State Police investigated.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
