CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Three defendants appeared in federal court for gun crimes this week, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.

Jason Wattie Buzzard, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms.  That term of imprisonment will be followed by three years of supervised release.   On October 12, 2018, Buzzard, a convicted felon, arranged to pick up Paul William Martin, also a convicted felon, at the Sheetz gas station in order to sell him firearms.  Buzzard was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his Kanawha County felony conviction of breaking and entering and a domestic battery conviction.  Martin was going to buy the guns from Buzzard with a combination of cash and illegal drugs.  Shortly after Martin got into Buzzard’s car, they were stopped by officers with the South Charleston Police Department.  Officers were able to locate and recover a .25 semi-automatic handgun and a .22 caliber revolver.  Ultimately, Buzzard pled guilty on September 23, 2019.  Martin was recently found guilty after a two-day jury trial.  Martin faces up to ten years in prison when sentenced on March 11, 2020.    The South Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).   United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney L. Alexander Hamner is handling the prosecution.

David Walker, Jr., 45, of Huntington, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Walker admitted that while on parole, he possessed two firearms.  Walker is prohibited from possessing firearms because he was convicted in 2018 of the felony offense of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances in Cabell County, West Virginia.  Walker faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced on April 13, 2020.  The West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Division of Corrections Probation and Parole Office conducted the investigation.   United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Taylor is handling the prosecution.

Ronald Lucas, 36, of Craigsville, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lucas admitted that on May 10, 2019, law enforcement officers with the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department were serving an arrest warrant at his home in Craigsville for failure to pay child support. Lucas answered the door wearing an empty nylon holster. When the officers asked where the gun was located, he indicated that it was inside the residence close to where officers could see another individual laying on a bed. When an officer went inside the residence to secure it, a loaded 9 millimeter pistol was located and seized.  Lucas faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced on May 4, 2020.  The Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation.   United States District Judge Goodwin presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Tessman is handling the prosecution.

The Walker 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.

These cases are also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from Project Guardian partners as mentioned above. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.            

 

 

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