Nearby: Washington Man Sentenced to Prison for Violating Federal Firearms Laws

A Washington man has been sentenced in federal court to five years
imprisonment, to be followed by two years supervised release, on violating federal firearms charges, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton announced this week.

Timothy D. Johnson, 41, of 891 Addison Street, Washington, was sentenced on
11 counts before U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon. Johnson was also ordered to forfeit firearms and silencers, including a Sten machine gun.

According to information presented to the court, in or around 2008 Johnson knowingly disposed of a firearm to a convicted felon. In addition, on various dates between Dec. 5, 2010, and Oct. 14, 2011, Johnson unlawfully possessed and transferred silencers and a machine gun.

Most of the transactions and conversations preceding the transactions were captured on audio and video
recordings supervised by the FBI.

Johnson frequently boasted of his ability to manufacture silencers and fully automatic weapons during the investigation. After his arrest, Johnson admitted that the firearm and silencer he possessed and transferred on May 18, 2011, were used by him in April 2011 in a drive-by shooting of a car parked outside a Washington County residence. One of the bullets from that shooting struck the house, though no one was injured. Johnson told the FBI that former East
Washington Police Chief Donald Solomon instigated the shooting.

FBI Special Agent James Shearer testified that Johnson and Solomon were originally to be members of a "home invasion" team that would rob homeowners of cash and, in some instances, drugs. Solomon, as police chief, was to provide background information on the subjects and "cover" during the home invasions, according to recorded conversations captured by the FBI.

Prior to announcing sentence, Bissoon described Johnson's challenges to the evidence as "unpersuasive" and "disingenuous".