James Winchester, Gun Theft, Virginia 2022

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Winchester man was sent to prison for nearly a decade after he was caught with stolen guns, according to court documents.

Brandon D. Martin, 29, was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison by Senior United States District Judge Joseph M. Hood for possessing stolen firearms.

Martin admitted to possessing five stolen guns in June 2017, which he knew had been stolen when he pawned them at several pawn shops in the Winchester area.

Law enforcement agents in Clark and Woodford counties confirmed that the guns had been stolen from burglaries of residences in the two counties.

Martin faces state charges in some of these counties for the burglaries.

Martin has a history of crime, having been previously convicted of three prior felony offenses.

Martin pleaded guilty to the federal charge in March 2018. He will serve 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for three years after his release.

The investigation was conducted by the ATF, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, and the Versailles Police Department.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program aimed at reducing violent crime and making neighborhoods safer.

Assistant United States Attorney Roger W. West represented the United States in the case.

The sentence was announced by Robert M. Duncan Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Stuart Lowery, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, Burl Perdue Jr., Clark County Sheriff, and James Fugate, Chief of the Versailles Police Department.

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