Samuel Lee Donaldson Jr, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, West Virginia 2021

Samuel Lee Donaldson, Jr., a 37-year-old felon from Weston, West Virginia, is headed to federal prison for nearly eight years after being caught with a loaded 9mm during a police response to a 911 call. The sentence, handed down today, marks the end of a case rooted in violence, flight, and a criminal history that legally barred him from possessing any firearm.

Donaldson was sentenced to 98 months of incarceration after a jury convicted him in April 2021 of one count of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. The conviction followed a two-day trial in Elkins, West Virginia, where prosecutors laid out a damning case showing Donaldson’s long-standing ineligibility to own a weapon due to prior convictions for domestic battery and a third-offense DUI.

The incident unfolded on October 5, 2019, when a deputy from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and a Weston Police Department K-9 unit responded to a 911 call reporting a known felon armed with a gun. When officers made visual contact with Donaldson, he turned and ran. Just before being apprehended, he hurled a 9mm semi-automatic firearm into nearby brush—where it was quickly recovered by law enforcement.

Court documents and trial testimony confirmed the gun was functional and loaded. Prosecutors emphasized that Donaldson’s decision to flee—combined with the act of discarding the weapon—showed clear consciousness of guilt. His record, including violent and repeat offenses, sealed the severity of the sentence under federal law.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher L. Bauer and Andrew R. Cogar. The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, with critical support from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the Weston Police Department, whose officers were on scene during the initial pursuit.

U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided over the trial and imposed the 98-month sentence. Donaldson will serve his time in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Federal authorities say the outcome sends a message: felons with guns won’t be given a second chance.

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