Huntsville man sentenced on federal gun charge

FORT SMITH — A Huntsville man was sentenced to prison Wednesday on a federal gun charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Gregg Nicholas, 55, was sentenced to five years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A business reported to Huntsville police in April 2017 that Nicholas, claiming to be a Department of Homeland Security employee, requested it sew

DHS patches on camouflage shirts, according to court records. When law enforcement officers investigated the report, a detective saw Nicholas wearing both a federal game warden badge and a U.S. Department of Treasury badge.

When the detective asked Nicholas about his employment with Homeland Security, Nicholas claimed he was retired from the department, was a trained U.S. Marine and had completed several undercover jobs with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in his career.

While speaking with the detective, Nicholas alluded to the fact that he possessed several firearms at his home. Nicholas was arrested for criminal impersonation. The detective then contacted Homeland Security Investigations for assistance. Homeland security agents did a criminal record check and found Nicholas had a prior felony conviction. Police got a search warrant for Nicholas’ home and discovered 14 firearms and ammunition.

Nicholas was indicted by a federal grand jury in June and entered a guilty plea in October.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes presided over the sentencing hearing.

Nicholas