Madison, Wis. - John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney
for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Michael Allan Hancock,
41, Pierce County, Wis., was found guilty of two gun crimes after a two-day
trial in U.S. District Court in Madison. Hancock was found guilty of being a
felon in possession of a firearm, a J.C. Higgins 20 gauge shotgun, and of
possessing a sawed-off shotgun. The jury reached their verdict this afternoon
after approximately two hours of deliberation.
According to the testimony at trial, a search warrant was
executed in August 2013 on a Pierce County property. In the course of the
search, law enforcement officials recovered a sawed-off shotgun in a camper in
which Hancock stayed as a caretaker for the property.
Testimony also included recordings of Hancock stating he was
entitled to have the sawed-off shotgun to protect himself from black bears. The
property owner testified that in the 20 years during which he has owned the
property, he had never seen a black bear. Sentencing is scheduled for March 26,
2015. Hancock faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison on each
count.
The conviction of Hancock is the result of an investigation
by the Pierce and St. Croix County Sheriffs’ Departments, Prescott Police
Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The
prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin
Burke and Munish Sharda.
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