Jonathan Kennedy, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, West Virginia 2022

A St. Albans man has pleaded guilty to a federal gun crime. Jonathan Kennedy, 41, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 30, 2022, law enforcement officers were dispatched to Leon Sullivan Way in Charleston in response to a report of shots fired. Officers found a bullet hole at the entrance of Jet Life Apparel and obtained a search warrant for the store’s video surveillance system, which showed two firearms inside the store: a Dickinson, model XXPA, 12-gauge shotgun; and a Smith & Wesson, model M&P 15, 5.56-caliber rifle. The video surveillance footage also showed Kennedy running across the store while holding the shotgun following an apparent altercation outside.

Officers recovered both firearms from a vehicle in an alley near Jet Life Apparel. Each firearm was loaded with a high-capacity drum magazine.

Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Kennedy knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his felony convictions for interstate travel in aid of drug trafficking and use of a communication facility in furtherance of an unlawful act in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on December 3, 2014.

Kennedy is scheduled to be sentenced on January 25, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Charleston Police Department.

Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearings. Assistant United States Attorney Nowles Heinrich is prosecuting 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.

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