Travis Lee Hudnall, 32, of Kanawha County, is headed back to federal prison after breaking into a Hansford residence, stealing a loaded .40 caliber pistol, and wrestling with the homeowner who caught him in the act. The violent break-in on June 7, 2016, ended with Hudnall pinned to the ground by the victim until deputies arrived.
Hudnall pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm — a charge stemming directly from the stolen Smith & Wesson Model SW40C he took during the burglary. In court today, U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., sentenced him to three years and ten months for that offense. An additional year was tacked on for violating his federal supervised release, making the total sentence nearly five years, served consecutively.
According to court records, Hudnall didn’t stop at the gun. He also stole a computer tablet and a chainsaw from the property. But his escape was cut short when the homeowner returned unexpectedly. A physical struggle ensued. The victim overpowered Hudnall and held him down until law enforcement arrived — a rare case of immediate civilian intervention leading to an on-scene arrest.
Hudnall’s criminal history sealed his fate. He was already a convicted felon, with a prior Kanawha County conviction for daytime entering without breaking and a federal conviction in the Southern District of West Virginia for being a felon in possession of a firearm. That second conviction is what made his latest gun possession a federal offense, carrying stiff penalties.
The investigation was a joint effort by the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the West Virginia State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald prosecuted the case, emphasizing Hudnall’s pattern of reoffending despite prior leniency through supervised release.
This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national initiative aimed at reducing gun violence by leveraging federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships. With Hudnall now locked up for nearly five years, federal prosecutors are calling it a win for community safety in southern West Virginia.
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Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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