Crook County man sentenced in firearms case

A federal judge in Eugene sentenced a 34-year-old Crook County resident Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison for possessing a gun and ammunition after an earlier domestic violence conviction.

U.S. District Judge Anne Aiken also sentenced Willard Bryan Wilhelm to three years of supervision after his release from prison.

Wilhelm pleaded guilty without a plea agreement in February to possessing a firearm and ammunition after being convicted in an Oregon court of fourth-degree assault “constituting domestic violence.”

Federal prosecutors said Wilhelm was warned he could no longer lawfully possess a firearm and ammunition.

But on July 19, 2012, Prineville officers were called to Wilhelm’s residence and arrested him for possessing a loaded rifle. Two women and four children were in the residence when he was taken into custody, prosecutors said.

Witnesses testified at Wilhelm’s sentencing about his history of possessing firearms while intoxicated and his abuse of women and children.

This case was investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Prineville Police Department, and was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office for prosecution by rook County Deputy District Attorney Katherine Krauel-Hernberg. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank R. Papagni, Jr..