Department of Justice

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Shannon C. Thornton, of Weirton, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 120 months incarceration for illegally possessing a firearm, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Thornton, age 36, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm” in October 2018. Thornton, having previously been convicted of  felony “Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury” in North Carolina, admitted to possessing a .380 caliber pistol, 9mm caliber pistol, and a .45 caliber pistol in January 2018 in Hancock 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 Danae DeMasi-Lemon prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives  and the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. 

Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr., presided.

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