Date: 10-17-2014

Case Style: United States of America v. Michael Gene Haney, a/k/a Michael McClure Herman

Case Number: 2:14-cr-20008-PKH

Judge: P. K. Holmes III

Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (Washington County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: David Harris

Defendant's Attorney: James B. Pierce - FPD

Description: Fort Smith, Arkansas - Michael Gene Haney, (aka Michael McClure Herman), age 36, of Barling, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison plus three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Honorable P. K. Holmes III, United States District Court Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, presided over the sentencing hearing in Fort Smith.

U. S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “With today’s sentence, this armed career criminal has been taken off of our local streets. Felons in possession of firearms have no place in our communities as they pose a serious threat of harm to our police officers and to citizens at large. We will continue to work with local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute these cases, and hopefully prevent violence throughout the Western District of Arkansas.”

According to court records, on March 5, 2014, officers with the Fort Smith Police Department received information that Haney, who was on parole at the time with a pending felony warrant, was in possession of a firearm and drugs and was staying at the Regency Motel in Fort Smith. Officers set up surveillance on the hotel and observed Haney leave his room and get into a vehicle with two other people. Officers stopped the vehicle in which he was riding and had him exit the car. During the search of the vehicle, officers located a loaded 9mm handgun with ten rounds of ammunition in the clip in the backseat. Haney later admitted that the firearm belonged to him and pleaded guilty to the charge on June 5, 2014. At sentencing, Haney was determined to be an armed career criminal due to having at least three felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense.

Fort Smith Police Chief Kevin Lindsey remarked that “firearms and felons are a bad mix in our community, and thanks to the diligence of our police officers and the excellent level of cooperation we enjoy with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we were able to successfully remove another criminal and a firearm from our streets.”

This case was investigated by the Fort Smith Police Department.

Outcome: See above

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: