Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

MADISON, WIS. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Joshua Reedy, 26, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, was sentenced Friday, July 31 by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 42 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. This prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release.

On August 16, 2019, Eau Claire police officers found Reedy in the parking lot of a Goodwill store after receiving a complaint for a suspicious vehicle. At the time officers found Reedy, he was wearing a bullet-proof vest and was also in possession of a crow-bar and hunting knife. During a search of his vehicle, officers located a sawed-off shotgun. Reedy admitted to knowing this shotgun was stolen and to sawing off its barrel. A second gun, ammunition, stolen credit cards, and other burglarious tools were located in the vehicle and in the possession of Reedy’s associate, who was located nearby.

Reedy is prohibited from possessing any firearms as a result of multiple Wisconsin felony convictions.

In sentencing Reedy, Judge Conley acknowledged his long-standing addiction to alcohol and drugs. However, Judge Conley noted that Reedy was a high functioning addict who failed to take prior addiction treatment seriously. Judge Conley imposed this prison sentence, in part, because of Reedy’s pattern of increasingly serious crimes.

The charge against Reedy was the result of an investigation conducted by the Eau Claire Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus.

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