CHARLESTON, W.Va. - United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced today that two felons were sentenced to federal prison for gun crimes.
John Brady Studenic, 33, of Parkersburg, a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Upon release, he will be under supervised release for an additional three years. The United States requested, and the Court imposed, a sentence above the range recommended by the United States Sentencing Guidelines for this case due to Studenic’s history of violence. Studenic previously admitted that he was riding a motorcycle on 7th Street in Parkersburg when an officer with the Parkersburg Police Department attempted to perform a traffic stop on him for running a red light at the intersection of 7th Street and Park Avenue. Once the officer activated his overhead lights and siren, Studenic fled eastbound on 7th Street toward Core Road. In the process, he was travelling approximately 90 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. Studenic passed multiple vehicles using either a turning lane or the oncoming lane, and ran an additional red light at the intersection of 7th Street and Fairview Avenue during the pursuit. Eventually, he wrecked the motorcycle on Core Road and was taken into custody following a brief physical struggle which he initiated by charging the arresting officer. Upon being apprehended, his person was searched and a loaded Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol was located in his waistband. Additional ammunition as well as approximately 20 grams of methamphetamine and a small amount of marijuana were also found in Studenic’s possession. Studenic was not legally permitted to possess a firearm due to a previous conviction for the felony offense of malicious assault on Sept. 22, 2010, in Wood County Circuit Court. That prior conviction is the result of Studenic shooting another individual. The Parkersburg Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is handling the prosecution.
Ronald Sayles, 43, of Charleston, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also was sentenced to a concurrent term of eight months in prison for violating terms of his supervised release related to an underlying federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sayles admitted that on Sept. 18, 2020, he was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed on Washington Street, East, in Charleston. When responding officers conducted a pat down of Sayles, they located a Ruger LC9, 9mm pistol in his jacket pocket. Sayles admitted to police officers that he knew he was prohibited from possessing the gun because of two prior felony convictions. In 2016, Sayles was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and, in 2002, he was convicted in Kanawha County Circuit Court of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Sayles was still serving a term of federal supervised release in connection with the 2016 conviction. The Charleston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Negar Kordestani handled the prosecution.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:20-cr-00165 and 2:20-cr-00181.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
