Charleston Man Fires Gun at Woman’s Car, Pleads Guilty

Frankie D. McNeal, 25, of Charleston, West Virginia, admitted in federal court to firing a 9mm Glock pistol at a woman’s car following a violent confrontation at The Empty Glass bar on October 14, 2019. Surveillance footage captured the moment McNeal stormed outside and shot through the windshield of the vehicle, narrowly missing the female patron inside. The act wasn’t random—it was retaliation after an escalating argument inside the bar.

McNeal, already a convicted felon due to a 2012 first-degree robbery conviction in Kanawha County Circuit Court, is legally barred from possessing firearms. Yet he walked into the bar armed with a Glock 19 9mm pistol. After the gunshot, responding officers found him hiding in a nearby alley. The weapon was recovered from a dumpster just feet away from where McNeal stood, his fingerprints and DNA linked to the gun. Ballistics confirmed the round came from the seized firearm.

Charged federally with being a felon in possession of a firearm, McNeal entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin F. Scott is prosecuting the case, while United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. The conviction carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for December 2, 2020.

The investigation was a joint operation between the Charleston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), both agencies tightening the noose with physical evidence and witness accounts. The case was prosecuted under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a targeted strategy to dismantle violent crime through focused enforcement and community collaboration.

PSN isn’t just about arrests—it’s about accountability. The program uses data-driven tactics to identify high-crime areas and repeat violent offenders, then deploys federal muscle to disrupt cycles of violence. McNeal’s prosecution underscores the program’s reach: even local incidents with clear danger to the public are elevated to federal scrutiny when gun laws are broken by those with violent pasts.

For more information, court documents are available via PACER under Case No. 2:20-cr-00099. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia released the official statement, reinforcing its commitment to reducing violent gun crime. Follow updates at SDWVNews and USAttyStuart on Twitter.

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