(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - A former resident of Ketchikan with an extensive criminal history and untreated mental health issues was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess in Anchorage to 36 months of imprisonment followed by a three year term of supervised release.

In sentencing James A. Mavromatis, 39, Judge Burgess noted Mavromatis' extensive criminal history, his untreated mental health issues, and a clear need to protect the public as the reasons for sentence he imposed.

On October 21, 2013, Mavromatis was tried and convicted for being in possession of a firearm after being previously committed to a mental institution.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt, who prosecuted the case, on June 30, 2013, James A. Mavromatis was contact by a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer at the Last Chance Campground located in the Ward Lake area north of Ketchikan. During that contact, Mavromatis was found to be in possession of a fully loaded Czechoslovakian made .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun. A records check of Mavromatis failed to reveal at the time that the defendant was a person prohibited from possessing a firearm. Later that evening, the officer was advised that the initial information they received was in error and that Mavromatis was actually a prohibited person.

The next day, the officer re-contacted Mavromatis at his campsite and the firearm was recovered and turned over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for further investigation. The investigation revealed that there was a prior court order that Mavromatis be committed to a mental institution on December 23, 2003, and again on November 2, 2009.

After his trial, Mavromatis became irate and made verbal threats toward the prosecutor and case agent. Mavromatis stated that he intended to obtain a firearm in the future when he was released from custody.

U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced Friday that a former Ketchikan resident was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Loeffler commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement who conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution in this case.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News: 

U.S. Department of Justice - Alaska District
www.justice.gov/

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