HUNTINGTON, WV – United States Attorney Mike Stuart today announced that Kevin Holmes, Jr., 31, of Huntington, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On December 22, 2019, an officer with the Huntington Police Department pulled a vehicle over around the intersection of 20th Street and 6th Avenue in Huntington. Holmes was the only person in the vehicle. After determining there were warrants for his arrest, the officer asked Holmes to get out of the vehicle. After a brief foot pursuit, the officer arrested Holmes. While conducting an inventory search of the vehicle, officers found a loaded .357 Magnum revolver. Holmes was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law because of a 2015 conviction in Kentucky for trafficking a controlled substance, fleeing police, and wanton endangerment.
Holmes faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on March 8, 2021.
The Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the plea hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Taylor is handling the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:20-cr-00017.