Detroit Man Pleads Guilty To West Virginia Federal Gun Crime
Friday, October 25, 2024, 6:15 A.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
CHARLESTON, W.VA.- According to U.S. Attorney Will Thompson, on Thursday, October 24, 2024, Tristian Gerrell Murphy, 35, of Detroit, Michigan, appeared in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Irene C. Berger to one count of Being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm.
During Thursday’s plea hearing, Judge Berger accepted Murphy’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for February 13, 2025, at which time Murphy faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
According To Charging Documents
According to documents filed with the court, on June 10, 2024, Murphy, during a motor vehicle traffic stop in St Albans, West Virginia, possessed a Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380-caliber pistol under the front driver’s seat of his vehicle and a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol found in his trunk, at that time both handguns were loaded.
Under federal law, a person previously convicted of a felony is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. Murphy admitted he knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior conviction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan of the charge of Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery.
U.S. Attorney Thompson commended the St. Albans Police Department for the arrest of Murphy and Thursday’s guilty plea.
