Wausau Man Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

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Madison, Wis. — John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Morgan Sykes, 34, Wausau, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 37 months in prison, followed by a three–year term of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Sykes pleaded guilty to this charge on July 19, 2011.

On March 20, 2011, the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Investigations Unit executed a no–knock search warrant at an apartment in the Village of Rothschild. The warrant was issued for narcotics, but law enforcement officers had also been told that Sykes stayed at the apartment, that he was a convicted felon, and that he had a gun.

Sykes was present in the apartment when the warrant was executed and officers recovered a loaded, stolen handgun on a closet shelf. Sykes admitted buying the gun several weeks earlier and knowing the gun was stolen.

The charge against Sykes was the result of an investigation conducted by the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rita M. Rumbelow.