Department of Justice

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA –Willard Lee Moss, Jr., of Saint Marys, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 27 months incarceration for a firearms violation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Moss, age 38, was found guilty of one count of “Domestic Violence Offender in Possession of a Firearm” after a two-day trial in October 2018. Moss, having previously been convicted of two separate domestic violence offenses in Pleasants County, possessed one handgun, three rifles, and two shotguns in his home in February 2018.

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 David J. Perri prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the West Virginia State Police, and the Pleasants County Sheriff’s Office investigated. 

Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.