CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Denzil Weatherspoon, 29, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to a single-count indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made during the plea hearing, Weatherspoon ran from officers with the Charleston Police Department on February 4, 2020. Upon detaining Weatherspoon, officers recovered a loaded .22 caliber revolver in his jacket pocket. Weatherspoon is prohibited from possessing firearms by virtue of his prior felony convictions. Weatherspoon has a 2016 felony conviction for aggravated assault in the Circuit Court of Davidson County, Tennessee and a 2014 felony conviction for unlawful wounding in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia.
Weatherspoon faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on May 5, 2022.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the excellent work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Charleston Police Department.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Nick Miller is handling the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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 theU.S. Attorney’s Officefor the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found onPACERby searching for Case No.2:20-cr-00138.
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