GREGORY SCOTT RINKER, a 31-year-old man from Romney, West Virginia, is going to prison for nearly eight years after being caught with stolen guns in two rural Appalachian counties. The sentence lands hard in a region where illegal firearms fuel violence and law enforcement is stretched thin.
Rinker was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing four stolen firearms in Mineral and Hampshire Counties in August 2015, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced. The weapons weren’t just unregistered — they were confirmed stolen, making the crime a federal offense under U.S. law.
In September 2016, Rinker pleaded guilty to one count of “Possession of a Stolen Firearm,” a charge that doesn’t mince words. No plea deal wiped away the full weight of the crime — just the facts, a guilty plea, and a judge ready to enforce the law.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins, who pushed for accountability in a case that struck at the heart of community safety. Stolen guns don’t just vanish — they resurface at crime scenes, in drug deals, or in the hands of the violent. This conviction aims to stem that flow.
Investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with critical support from the West Virginia State Police and the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Department. Local boots on the ground met federal resources in a coordinated strike against gun crime.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided over the sentencing, delivering a clear message: stealing or hoarding firearms in West Virginia won’t be treated as a minor offense. For Rinker, the price is 96 months behind bars — time to reflect on the danger he chose to keep close.
Related Federal Cases
- Marion County Man Convicted of Possession of Stolen Firearm · West Virginia
- Man Sentenced for Possession of Stolen Firearm · West Virginia
- Rollie C. Poynter Jr. Charged with Illegal Firearm Possession · Kentucky
- Russell Cary Owens Pleads Guilty to Illegal Firearm Possession · North Carolina
- Thomas Dale Sims Jr. Sentenced for Firearm Possession · West Virginia
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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