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Press Release

Marion County man guilty of firearm charge

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of West Virginia

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – After a two-day trial, Oneil Wayne South, of Fairmont, West Virginia, was found guilty today by a federal jury of a firearms charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

After deliberating for two hours, the jury found South, age 45, guilty of one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm as Drug User.” South is prohibited from having a firearm because of drug use, and has a 9mm pistol in March 2019 in Marion County.

South pled guilty to one count of “Reckless Flight from a Law Enforcement Officer” in February 2020. South admitted to fleeing from law enforcement after being asked to stop when on the property of the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Harrison County in March 2019.

South faces up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for the firearms charge. South faces up to five years incarceration and a fine of up to $2,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew R. Cogar and Danae DeMasi-Lemon prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the FBI, and the Fairmont Police Department investigated.
 
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

Updated March 4, 2020

Topic
Firearms Offenses