A Paw Paw man is facing federal gun charges.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten Tuesday announced a grand jury returned a superseding indictment against 34-year-old Eric Nathan Deryke for possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
“Gun violence is an epidemic across America and here in Michigan that inflicts immense trauma on communities when guns end up in the wrong hands,” said Totten. “That’s why my office is committed to getting illegal guns off of the streets and out of the hands of felons.”
The original indictment charged Deryke with one count for Felon in Possession of a Firearm on April 16, 2022. The superseding indictment adds a Felon in Possession of a Firearm charge after Deryke possessed a different firearm on July 25, 2023. The maximum statutory penalty for count one is 10 years in prison and 15 years imprisonment for count two.
“Unfortunately, small town America is not immune to the violence that plagues some of our big cities. That violence came to the town of Paw Paw on April 16, 2022, when a shooting took place where Deryke has been charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm and a second individual has also been charged with their involvement,” said Paw Paw Police Department Interim Police Chief Eric Rottman.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney LaToyia T. Carpenter and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Michigan State Police, and the Paw Paw Police Department.
