Domestic violence offender sentenced for illegally possessing firearm

TYLER — A Cherokee County man has been sentenced for federal firearms violations. According the Eastern District of Texas, Larry Van Butcher, a.k.a. “Red”, 53, of Rusk, was convicted Tuesday. Butcher, pleaded guilty last fall, to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. After confessing to using methamphetamine and marijuana as well as possessing numerous firearms, Butcher admitted that he had been previously convicted in Cherokee County, for the misdemeanor offense of Assault Family Violence, which is a crime of domestic violence resulting in a federal prohibition on possessing firearms. Law enforcement officers seized 20 firearms, at his home, including two that had been reported stolen. o Butcher was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.