Man on supervised release sentenced to 5 years in prison for possessing firearms
Defendant hid in box under furnace in attempt to evade arrest
COLUMBUS, Ohio – William J. Dishman, 40, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 60 months total in prison for possessing multiple firearms as a convicted felon and violating his supervised release.
According to court documents, in August 2021, Dishman was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service’s Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST).
Dishman had previously been convicted of burglary of a pharmacy and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Following his release from prison, Dishman was placed on supervised release. An arrest warrant was issued in the Southern District of Ohio after reports of Dishman violating his supervised release.
On Aug. 6, 2021, SOFAST members executed a search warrant at the property of Dishman’s wife in Cincinnati. Dishman’s wife said she had not seen Dishman for more than a month but allowed agents to search the apartment. In truth, Dishman was hiding in a wooden box underneath a furnace located in one of the bedroom closets. SOFAST members found and apprehended Dishman without incident.
While searching the apartment, agents discovered an assault rifle with an extended magazine and four pistols. One of the pistols was stuffed into a couch where a child was resting.
“The risk of danger to the officers who were executing Dishman’s arrest warrant is not hypothetical,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “They were potentially being lured into an ambush inside while Dishman hid. It is even more egregious that this occurred in the same apartment in which a child was sleeping. Within months of Dishman’s arrest, another deputy marshal was shot and wounded while executing a warrant under nearly identical circumstances.”
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Acting United States Marshal Bradley Stuart announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.
