ELKINS, W.Va. – Michael Lough, of Buckhannon, was sentenced Tuesday to 60 months incarceration for his role in a firearms theft and sale scheme, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Lough, 34, pled guilty to one count of “Possession of Stolen Firearm – Aiding and Abetting,” and one count of “Unlawful Possession of Firearm” in January 2018. Lough, being a person prohibited from possessing a firearm, admitted to receiving, possessing, bartering or selling 21 firearms in Upshur County in October 2016.

Lough was also ordered to pay $54,000 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives; The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force; the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office; the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office; the Buckhannon Police Department; and the Weston Police Department investigated. 

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.