CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Charleston pill dealer who illegally possessed a 9-millimeter pistol in January 2013 and then turned it in at a local pawn shop for cash was sentenced today to three years and one month in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Anthony Dawson, Jr., 30, previously pleaded guilty in July to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Dawson’s sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. in Charleston. On Jan. 3, 2013, Dawson possessed a 9-millimeter pistol and later pawned the firearm near Dunbar, W.Va. in exchange for $400.
Dawson was previously convicted of conspiracy to deliver oxycodone in June 2009 in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. He did not have his rights to possess a firearm restored.
The Charleston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
This case was also prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
