Chapman Man Goes to Prison for Illegally Possessing Handgun
A 66-year-old Chapman man connected to a bath salts case in central Aroostook County has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Frank Lavway appeared in U.S. District Court in Bangor on Thursday, according to U. S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty. In addition to the prison term, Lavway was sentenced to three years of supervised release and fined $7,500. He had pleaded guilty last year.
Court records show that on September 13, 2014, a Maine State Trooper encountered the defendant at his Chapman residence carrying a loaded Derringer handgun in his pocket, Delahanty said. Lavway was prohibited from possessing the gun because he had a 2009 Maine felony drug conviction.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. found that Lavway used the handgun in connection with maintaining a drug-involved premises where bath salts had been distributed.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Maine State Police.