Jacob Daniel Anthony, Gun Theft, West Virginia

West Virginia isn’t known for mercy when guns go missing and end up in the wrong hands—especially when a 22-year-old from Weston goes tearing through three counties stealing firearms. Jacob Daniel Anthony didn’t just lift a weapon or two—he cleaned out arsenals, swiping a .45 caliber pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a 20-gauge shotgun across Lewis, Upshur, and Harrison Counties in August 2015.

The theft spree sent shockwaves through tight-knit mountain communities where trust runs deep but suspicion runs deeper when weapons vanish. These weren’t just tools of sport or protection—they were stolen property, illegally transferred, and ultimately found in the possession of a man who couldn’t legally explain how he got them. Federal authorities moved fast, knowing all too well how stolen guns feed violent crime pipelines.

Anthony didn’t wait for a trial. In March 2016, he pled guilty to one count of “Possession of Stolen Firearms,” a federal charge that carries serious weight but, in this case, didn’t land him behind bars. Instead, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen confirmed the 22-year-old was sentenced to five years probation—a decision that left some questioning whether justice matched the crime.

The investigation was a joint punch from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Weston Police Department, agencies that don’t often see eye-to-eye but do when guns are involved. Their grinding legwork traced the firearms, pieced together timelines, and built a case that didn’t need a jury to validate—just a guilty plea and a judge’s gavel.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided over the proceedings, handing down the probation term with conditions likely to include firearm restrictions, random searches, and mandatory check-ins. No fine was announced, no prison time imposed—just five years under federal watch.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri prosecuted the case for the government, closing another file in a region where gun thefts often bleed into larger criminal networks. For now, the weapons have been recovered. The suspect is on probation. But in the hills of central West Virginia, people remember who took what—and they’re watching to see if the punishment sticks.