HUNTINGTON, WV—United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that a convicted felon originally from Detroit, Michigan was sentenced in federal court in Huntington today to 70 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm. Joseph Lovell Cook, 22, previously pled guilty to possessing an SKS semi-automatic assault rifle on July 3, 2014, in Barboursville, West Virginia. Cook was prohibited from possessing the firearm because of a 2010 assault with a dangerous weapon conviction in Michigan and a 2012 drug trafficking conviction in Cabell County, West Virginia.

The FBI Drug Task Force and the DEA Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg McVey and Jennifer Rada Herrald are responsible for the prosecution.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.