Putnam County Man Sentenced For Federal Firearms Charged
Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 2:30 P.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HUNTINGTON, W.VA.- On Monday, March 31, 2025, Edward Leon Soward, 35, of Hurricane, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers to 15 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for Possession of a Firearm by a Person Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston and charging documents filed with the District Court, during his plea allocution, Sowards admitted that he purchased a Tauras Public Defender Poly .45-caliber/410 gauge revolver from an individual in June 2023.
Sowards further admitted that he knew the individual had stolen the gun. Sowards later confronted about the stolen firearm in his possession.
On June 21, 2023, Sowards met with an individual in a Hurricane, West Virginia, parking lot and returned the firearm. Sowards admitted that he knew the serial number had been removed from the gun when he returned it to the individual.
Federal law prohibits a person previously convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from owning or possessing a firearm and ammunition. Sowards knew he was prohibited from possessing the gun due to his prior conviction for domestic battery in Putnam County Magistrate Court in April 2012.
