Murray, Ky. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging a Murray, Kentucky man with possessing a Molotov cocktail, a destructive device.
United States Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division made the announcement.
According to the indictment, on September 10, 2022, in Calloway County, Kentucky, Jack Thomas Epperson, 20, possessed a Molotov cocktail, a destructive device that was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Epperson made his initial court appearance on August 21, 2023, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, Epperson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
The ATF Paducah Satellite Office is investigating the case, with assistance from the Kentucky State Police, Murray Police Department, and Murray State University Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Hancock, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, is prosecuting the case.