CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Charleston man, Dana Stevenson, 28, plead guilty today for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.
On Aug. 14, 2017, Charleston Police Department officers were searching for a suspect that was seen driving a stolen vehicle. Officers saw Stevenson walking by the Kanawha River. As officers approached, Stevenson threw a firearm into the river. The Charleston Police Department Dive Team later recovered a Glock.40 caliber pistol from the river. Stevenson was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law because of a 2014 felony malicious wounding conviction in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
Stevenson faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on November 4, 2019.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the plea hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Taylor is handling the prosecution.
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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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
