Tanner S. Huffman, 30, Koshkonong, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to eight years and six months in federal prison without parole for illegally possessing a firearm. According to court documents, he was a member of the Gangster Disciples and third in command locally as of 2020.
On Sept. 19, 2022, Huffman pleaded guilty in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, Huffman burglarized a residence on Jan. 20, 2021, in Hardy, Ark., and stole numerous items, including firearms, and the next day was associated with the theft of another firearm in Howell County.
Huffman was located Jan. 23, 2021, at the West Plains Motel, where he had rented a room. Officers had been conducting surveillance at the motel and saw Huffman arrive on a motorcycle he had stolen during the residential burglary in Hardy and arrested him at his motel room. He was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, brass knuckles, a single round of 9mm ammunition, and a key to the stolen motorcycle, and officers found a loaded Walther 9mm firearm with a high-capacity ammunition magazine in the motel room.
Officers also found seven firearms Huffman had stolen at his home, including a Savage .22-caliber rifle, a Marlin .22-caliber rifle with no serial number, a Marlin 12-gauge shotgun, a Harrington & Richardson 12-gauge shotgun, a Revelation .22-caliber rifle, a J. Stevens 16-gauge shotgun with no serial number and a Remington 30-06 rifle.
In March of 2022 Huffman pleaded guilty to Howell County charges of first-degree burglary and stealing a firearm, both felonies.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Huffman, who was under a state criminal justice sentence for possession of a controlled substance, has prior felony convictions for assault, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, unlawful use of a weapon, burglary, stealing firearms, explosive weapons, and possession of a controlled substance, federal court officials reported.
The federal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney and investigated by the Howell County Sheriff’s Department, the West Plains Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Hardy Police Department.
