In El Paso today, 27-year-old Wano McSwain of Dahlonega, Georgia, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm during an interstate kidnapping announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Douglas E. Lindquist, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso Division.

In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Philip R. Martinez ordered that McSwain be placed under supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term and forfeit two firearms and an assortment of ammunition seized by law enforcement at the time of his arrest.

According to court records, on February 5, 2014, a 78-year-old man reported to a store clerk at the Love’s Truck Stop on Interstate 10 in Anthony, TX, that he was in fear of his life. The man told the clerk that two days prior, while in Georgia, McSwain forced him at gunpoint to drive McSwain to Albuquerque, NM. Anthony police officers arrived on the scene and began searching for McSwain. They subsequently arrested McSwain nearby and recovered a .25 caliber pistol and a .20 gauge shotgun belonging to McSwain.

McSwain’s criminal history reveals that he was convicted of Pandering of a Child on April 19, 2005 in Clark County, NV, and subsequently sentenced to two to eight years in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Further investigation revealed a police report on file in Lumpkin County, GA, which alleged that McSwain stole the .20 gauge shotgun recovered by authorities on February 5, 2014. On August 29, 2014, McSwain pleaded guilty to the federal felon-in-possession charge in El Paso.

This case was investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the Anthony Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Rifian Newaz prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.