Ohio Man Copped Gun Charge, Gets 46 Months

Donaven J. White, 21, of Coshocton, Ohio, is going to federal prison for 46 months after being caught with a loaded .22 caliber revolver on the streets of Wheeling, West Virginia — a city already buckling under violent crime. White, a convicted felon, had no legal right to possess a firearm, yet he did, and now he’s paying the price.

The arrest unfolded in April 2016, when Wheeling Police stopped White during a routine encounter and found the revolver. Records show White had prior felony convictions in Belmont County, Ohio, which automatically disqualified him from owning or carrying any firearm under federal law. Possession alone — no shots fired, no robbery, no threat made — was enough to trigger federal prosecution.

In September 2016, White pleaded guilty to one count of “Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm,” a charge that carries stiff penalties, especially when prosecuted federally. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin handled the case for the government, pushing for accountability in a region where illegal guns fuel escalating violence.

The investigation was a joint effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Wheeling Police Department, agencies increasingly stretched thin as gun-related crimes climb across Appalachia. Federal prosecutors treated the case as more than a technical violation — it was a threat to public safety.

Sentencing was handed down today in Wheeling federal court by Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr., who imposed the 46-month prison term without parole. The judge emphasized that felons with firearms don’t get second chances when the stakes involve community safety.

U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, who announced the sentence, reiterated that illegal gun possession remains a top enforcement priority. “We’re not waiting for tragedy,” Ihlenfeld said. “We’re locking up those who shouldn’t have guns before they pull the trigger.” White will serve his sentence in federal custody, followed by supervised release.