CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Belleville man pled guilty to a gun crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Joshua Adam Dowler, 37, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms.
Dowler admitted that on April 12, 2018, he possessed a Taurus 9mm pistol at a residence on Cain Hill Road. Dowler was prohibited from possessing the firearm due to his July 2007 conviction of daytime burglary in Wood County Circuit Court. He was serving a term of parole at the time he possessed the pistol.
Dowler faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 31, 2020.
The United States Marshals Service, the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks 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
