The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that James T. Mathis, 43, of Muldrow, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for illegal possession of a firearm.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Sequoyah County Sheriff ’s Office, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On Aug. 8, 2023, Mathis pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm. According to investigators, on March 4, 2023, a county deputy performing a routine traffic stop discovered Mathis in possession of a loaded .38 SPL caliber revolver.

At the time of the stop, Mathis had been convicted of a punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Mathis will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals pending transportation to a designated U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

The Honorable John C. Coughenour, Senior U.S. District Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, sitting by assignment, presided over the sentencing hearing in Muskogee. Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Cameron McEwen represented the United States at the sentencing hearing.