Ex-Leesville police chief gets prison in gun probe
Last Modified: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 10:19 PM
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
A former Leesville police chief was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to nearly four years in prison for firearms charges.
U.S. District Judge Richard D. Haik sentenced Bobby D. Hickman, 51, of Leesville, to 46 months in prison for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley said.
Hickman, who will be on three years’ supervised release after prison, must make restitution for a stolen sawed-off shotgun found at his residence, Finley said.
Finley said the shotgun was taken from a civilian contractor working at Fort Polk, though previous reports said it was stolen from a New Llano resident in 1998.
Hickman pleaded guilty to the obliterated serial number charge in June as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors dropped four other weapons charges.
“Chief Hickman knew that the possession of this weapon was illegal, but he chose to ignore the law,” Finley said in a news release. “This sentence should send a message that no one is above the law.”
Hickman was reportedly fired as Leesville police chief on Jan. 28, 2011, after refusing to cooperate with an FBI investigation of Leesville police Officer Charlie Lopez.
A .357 Magnum with an obliterated serial number was found in the safe of his office, and a .38-caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number was found at his home, authorities said.
When he was arrested in June 2011, guns were strewn around his bedroom and the sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun was seized, authorities said.
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