HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 24, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the Norway Avenue address of Roy Bills, 56. Officers found multiple firearms in the basement: a Diamondback 5.56mm AR-15 rifle; a Savage AXIS XP .308-caliber Winchester bolt-action rifle; a Derya Arms, model VR-80, 12-gauge shotgun; a GSG .22-caliber pistol; and a Beretta 96 .40-caliber pistol. Officers also located ammunition with the firearms. Bills admitted to possessing the firearms and ammunition.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Bills was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his November, 7, 2016 felony conviction in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Bills is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the West Virginia State Police.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Keefe is prosecuting the case.
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. 3:21-cr-60.
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