A convicted felon was sentenced to over five years in prison on gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Matthew Hal McCraney, 49, of Ohatchee, to 63 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. McCraney pleaded guilty to the charge in August.

According to the plea agreement, on September 15, 2022, McCraney got into verbal altercation with his girlfriend, retrieved a short-barreled shotgun, and chased her down the street. The Anniston Police Department received a call reporting that McCraney was chasing a woman with a gun. An Anniston Police Department officer pursued McCraney and apprehended him after he slid down an embankment into a fence. Officers recovered a short-barreled, 12-gauge shotgun in some bushes. McRaney admitted he had possessed a short-barreled shotgun around the time he was in an argument with his girlfriend.

McCraney is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of multiple prior felony convictions, including felony battery and battery on a law officer or firefighter.