O’Neil Anthony Peart, Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking, West Virginia 2016

A St. Albans man caught with a stash of guns and narcotics has pleaded guilty to a federal crime, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto.

O’Neil Anthony Peart, 37, entered his guilty plea in federal court to possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking offenses.

On December 4, 2015, drug task force officers executed a search warrant at Peart’s Walnut Street apartment in St. Albans. Among other items, police seized eight firearms, including three ‘AR’-style assault rifles with high-capacity magazines, approximately 21 grams of fentanyl, approximately 7.5 pounds of marijuana, and more than $5,300 in cash.

All but two of the firearms were loaded.

Peart faces at least five years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 15, 2016.

The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the St. Albans Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution. The hearing was held before United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.

This case was also brought as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.

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