Paul Martin, Illegal Gun Possession, West Virginia 2023

Two convicted felons are headed to federal prison for illegally wielding firearms in separate incidents that reeked of repeat criminal behavior. Paul Martin, 31, of South Charleston, was sentenced to 27 months behind bars, while Denver Clifton Julious, 67, of Hilltop in Fayette County, got a year and a day. Both men are prohibited under federal law from owning or carrying guns due to their long rap sheets, yet both were caught red-handed with loaded weapons.

Martin’s downfall came on July 5, 2016, when South Charleston police pulled him over in a silver Mercedes Benz — not for reckless driving, but because they knew he had no valid license. A search of the vehicle turned up a loaded .45 caliber handgun stashed in the glove box. Martin admitted he put it there. His criminal record is littered with felony convictions in Kanawha County Circuit Court: daytime burglary, forgery, and possession of a stolen vehicle — each one sealing his ban from legally touching a firearm.

Julious’ case unfolded during a raid. On May 6, 2016, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and West Virginia State Police stormed his Red Star Road residence armed with a search warrant, responding to an armed altercation between Julious and another man. When they took him into custody, a deputy found a Davis Industries .22 caliber derringer tucked in his pocket. For a man with convictions for armed robbery (1982), first-degree sexual assault (1988), and unlawful possession of a firearm (2006), that tiny gun spelled another federal felony.

The investigation into Martin was led by the South Charleston Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Haley Bunn steering the prosecution. Julious was investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hanks. Both cases landed before U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, who handed down the sentences with no room for leniency.

These convictions are the latest fallout from Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Justice Department’s nationwide push to crush gun violence by targeting habitual offenders. The initiative funnels federal resources into local investigations, turning state-level arrests into federal time — especially when felons play with fire, literally.

Once a felon, always a felon when it comes to guns — that’s the message federal prosecutors are driving home. Martin and Julious ignored it. Now they’ll serve their time in federal prison, paying the price for choosing bullets over second chances.