Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

OKLAHOMA CITY – CHAD WAYNE KASPEREIT, 34, of Duncan, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing firearms while subject to a victim protective order and lying on a federal form to purchase firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.

According to Count 1 of a superseding indictment filed on March 19, 2019, Kaspereit made a materially false statement on December 7, 2017, at the Academy Store in Yukon, Oklahoma, when he represented he was not subject to a victim protective order.  Anyone purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer must certify answers to certain questions on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Form 4473.  The superseding indictment charged he knew when he completed the form that he was subject to a victim protective order in Stephens County, Oklahoma.  The protective order prohibited him from harassing, stalking, or threatening his ex-wife and their three children, and from using force or threats of force against them.  Relying on Kaspereit’s false statement, Academy sold him a Taurus Judge .45 caliber revolver and a Taurus PT 738 .380 pistol.

A second count charged Kaspereit with the felony of possessing the Taurus Judge .45 caliber revolver and the Taurus PT 738 .380 pistol between December 7, 2017, and February 26, 2018, a period during which he was subject to the Stephens County protective order.

On May 17, 2019, a jury convicted Kaspereit on both of these counts.  The evidence showed that Kaspereit was subject to protective orders that prohibited him from harassing, stalking, or intimidating his first wife and their three children, and then his second wife and her child, from September 3, 2015, until the present, with the limited exception of February 27, 2018, until March 18, 2018.  The jury heard that Kaspereit’s first wife agreed to dismiss her protective order in February 2018 only because she believed it was not stopping him from doing anything to her or the children.  The jury also heard evidence that Kaspereit used the handguns to threaten his second wife.  Kaspereit has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest on January 15, 2019.

At sentencing today, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell sentenced Kaspereit to ten years in prison—the statutory maximum—to be followed by three years of supervised release.  This sentence constituted an upward variance from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.  Although Kaspereit had no criminal history, the court nevertheless found the sentence was necessary to protect the public from Kaspereit’s violence.

“We will continue to bring firearms charges against perpetrators of domestic violence who violate federal law, particularly when they are actively menacing their families,” said U.S. Attorney Downing.  “Through this case and others like it, the Department of Justice is protecting vulnerable families and preventing violence against both adults and children.”

This sentence is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office and the Oklahoma City Police Department.  Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys K. McKenzie Anderson and Jacquelyn M. Hutzell, this case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian, the centerpieces of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  Through these programs, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions.   To enhance local effectiveness, the Western District of Oklahoma has emphasized prosecution of federal gun crimes connected to domestic violence.

Reference is made to public filings for further information.  For an image of U.S. Attorney Downing, click here.

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