Stanberry man sentenced to 8 years on weapons charge

By NewsPress Now

An eight-year sentence in federal prison was handed down Wednesday to a Northwest Missouri man who threatened to kill law enforcement officers when he was arrested in January.

Erin L. Graves, 45, of Stanberry, Missouri, was sentenced to eight years and four months without parole for illegally possessing a sawed-off shotgun, federal prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in May to that charge and also being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The sentence includes an enhancement for obstruction of justice due to the threats Graves made to officers. Those threats included referring to his shotgun as a “cop killer” and saying to multiple officers and guards that he would shoot them if he could, according to court documents.

Graves was on parole in two cases at the time of the incident and has several felony convictions making it illegal for him to possess a firearm or ammunition, prosecutors said.