Eau Claire Man Sentenced for Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024 -- 11:01 AM

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Damon L. Clark, 26, Eau Claire, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 5 ½ years in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.

The prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Clark pleaded guilty to this charge on August 20, 2024. On January 1, 2024, Eau Claire Police Officers were dispatched to a bar in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for reports that someone pointed a firearm at another individual during a fight. Witness reports and video surveillance identified Clark as the individual who pointed the firearm.

When law enforcement arrived, Clark fled to an adjacent parking lot. Law enforcement arrested Clark and located a loaded Glock 19 handgun with a 31-round magazine under a nearby vehicle.

The handgun had a machinegun conversion device installed, which is an illegal, after-market attachment that converts a semi-automatic handgun into a machinegun.

With the attachment, a handgun is capable of firing approximately 50 rounds in four seconds with a single pull of the trigger. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab confirmed Clark’s DNA was present on the firearm.

Clark is prohibited from legally possessing firearms and ammunition because of prior felony convictions. At sentencing, Judge Conley characterized Clark’s behavior as disastrous and emphasized the danger that he posed by pointing a fully loaded machinegun with extended magazine at someone outside a bar with other patrons present.

Judge Conley balanced the extremely aggravated nature of this offense with Clark’s lack of prior prison experience. Judge Conley expressed his hope that this would be a turning point for Clark.

The charge against Clark was the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consisting of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers (TFOs) from local agencies including the Dane County and Clark County Sheriff’s Offices and the Fitchburg, Madison, Sun Prairie, and La Crosse Police Departments.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Eau Claire Police Department, and UW-Eau Claire Police Department also assisted in this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lennon prosecuted this case. This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime.

The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.

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