Chaffee man sentenced to prison for nine years in firearms possession case

A Chaffee man was sentenced Thursday to more than nine years in federal prison following his guilty plea to being a previously-convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Seth A. Barnhart, 25, was sentenced to serve 115 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing indicated Barnhart threatened his ex-girlfriend with a firearm during an altercation in January. Officers with the Scott city Police Department conducted a traffic stop of Barnhart's vehicle shortly after the altercation and discovered a loaded semi-automatic pistol under his driver's seat.

A criminal background check revealed Barnhart was a convicted felon and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law. Barnhart's criminal history includes, among other things, felony convictions for drug-related offenses.

After serving his prison sentence, Barnhart will be placed on supervised release for three years.

In addition to the Scott City Police Department the case was investigated by the Cape Girardeau Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

U.S. district attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the government.