ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Maurice man was sentenced Monday to 24 months in prison for possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.
Kevin Patrick Abshire, 32, of Maurice, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of possession of an unregistered firearm; namely, a shotgun having a barrel less than 18 inches in length. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the June 16, 2016 guilty plea, Abshire admitted that on June 6, 2015, he was involved in a high-speed car chase within the city limits of Lafayette and Lafayette Parish, after he nearly struck an officer of the Lafayette Police Department while that officer was directing traffic at an accident scene. Instead of following the directions of the officers on the scene to turn off the engine to his vehicle, Abshire admitted that he drove away at a high rate of speed, causing officers of the Lafayette Police Department and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office to pursue Abshire’s vehicle. Abshire was involved in a single-vehicle accident near the Ridge Road area of Lafayette, and upon exiting the vehicle, officers noticed that he was in possession of a shotgun. Officers were successful in subduing Abshire and placing him into custody. The investigation revealed that the shotgun Abshire possessed when he exited the vehicle was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, was loaded, and had a barrel length of 13-7/8 inches.
The ATF, Lafayette Police Department and Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.