Upshur County man admits to his role in a gun theft and sale operation

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – A Buckhannon, West Virginia man has admitted today to carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced. 

Bobby Ray Johnson, Jr., age 27, pled guilty to one count of “Carry a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking Crime.” Johnson admitted to having a .40 caliber pistol during a drug trafficking crime in December 2016 in Upshur County. 

Johnson faces up to five years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. 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. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department investigated. 

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.