CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A federal jury sitting in Charleston has found a Lincoln County man guilty of illegally possessing a firearm, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. 

The jury found that the defendant, James Owen Adkins, was a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Adkins was previously convicted four times from 2012 through 2017 for subsequent offenses of driving on a license that was revoked for DUI, each conviction being a felony in West Virginia. On June 4, 2019, Adkins removed a Springfield XD 9mm pistol from a truck that drove away from St. Albans police officers during an attempted a traffic stop. Adkins took the pistol from the truck, climbed out and ran off through a residential neighborhood as police pursued him on foot with a K-9. Prior to being apprehended by police, Adkins discarded the firearm under a shrub next to a residence where young children resided. Police officers recovered the firearm at the scene. Adkins admitted in an interview with officers that he was a felon, that he ran from police with the firearm, and that he discarded it.

“Guilty by a jury of his peers.  By enforcing our federal firearms laws, we keep guns out of the wrong hands,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “By virtue of his four previous felony convictions, Adkins is prohibited from possessing firearms.  The 2nd Amendment is a sacred right for all Americans and it is a right that I hold as paramount.  But felons have forfeited that right.  I commend the work of the St. Albans Police Department and the work of my entire team in bringing Adkins to justice.”

Adkins faces up to ten years in prison when sentenced on April 30, 2020.

The St. Albans Police Department conducted the investigation.  United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the trial.  Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin F. Scott and Steven I. Loew are in charge of the prosecution and tried the case before the federal jury.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

 

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