HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - United States Attorney Mike Stuart today announced that Matthew Thacker, 39, of Huntington, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Thacker previously pled guilty and admitted that on Nov. 14, 2018, officers with the Huntington Police Department executed a search warrant at his residence at 315 Oak Street in Huntington. Officers located two firearms in Thacker’s home. Thacker told officers he knew he could not legally possess the firearms but he was afraid of being robbed. Thacker was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law because of a 2014 conviction for the felony offenses of aggravated battery and aggravated assault in Pinellas County, Florida.
The Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Taylor handled the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, 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.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:20-cr-00016.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
