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Press Release

Identity Theft Defendant Now Facing Weapons Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska – Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin R. Feldis announced today that Joseph Keenan May, 60, was charged in a superseding indictment with federal weapons offenses.  Defendant May, of Eagle River and Houston, Alaska, was indicted in June for identity theft crimes.  He now faces three new federal charges, alleging that he unlawfully possessed firearms while a fugitive from justice, he unlawfully possessed unregistered explosive devices, and he lied in an application for a federal firearms license.

May was arrested by an FBI tactical team at a home in Eagle River in the early morning hours of
Friday, June 20.  He had been wanted for capital sexual battery in Bradenton, Florida, since 1991.  He was also the subject of a federal warrant charging unlawful flight to avoid prosecution since 1993.

According to the indictment, May has been living under the identity of a stepbrother, Michael Camp, who died in his teens in the 1970s in Pennsylvania.  May is a former deputy sheriff in Manatee County, Florida.  The indictment charges two counts of unlawful use of a social security number, stemming from May’s use of Camp’s name and number to apply for an Alaska driver’s license in 2009 and unemployment benefits in 2013.  He is also charged with aggravated identity theft.  The new charges allege that he possessed eight firearms despite his status as a fugitive; that he possessed destructive devices and components to make them, including an exploding arrow and at least nine hand grenades; and the he lied on a 2011 application for a federal firearms license by using Camp’s identity and by claiming that he was not a fugitive from justice or then charged with a felony.

May faces up to 39 years in prison on the federal charges in Alaska.  He potentially faces life imprisonment in Florida.

Mr. Feldis commends the efforts of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Anchorage Division; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, for conducting the investigation that led to the Alaska indictments and arrest.  Thanks are also due to the FBI Tampa Division, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the State’s Attorney’s Office in Brandenton, Florida, and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated February 9, 2015

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