Billy Ray Castle Jr. Sentenced for Gun Crime in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In a shocking turn of events, Billy Ray Castle Jr., 40, of Bim, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 24, 2023, Castle fired three rounds from a Beretta Pietro SPA Model APX 9mm pistol into the ceiling of a Bim-area residence in Boone County and a fourth round out the open door of the residence. Responding law enforcement seized the Beretta, a Sig Sauer model P250 .40-caliber pistol and a Marlin Firearms Co. model X7 .308-caliber rifle at the residence. Castle possessed all three firearms.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Castle knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for robbery in Boone County Circuit Court on November 18, 2003. In that offense, Castle and others violently robbed a 65-year-old person who uses a wheelchair in the person’s home in 2002.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Sentencing in the case was conducted by Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe and former Assistant United States Attorney Troy D. Adams prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Related Federal Cases
- Dakota Zachary Williams, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, West Virginia 2019 · Virginia
- Justin L. Saunders, Felon in Possession of Firearm, West Virginia 2023 · Arkansas
- Jalen O. Thomas, Felon in Possession of Firearm, West Virginia 2023 · Alabama
- Eric I. Day, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, West Virginia 2024 · Arkansas
- Robert Thomas, Possession of a Firearm, West Virginia 2023 · Virginia
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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