Charleston felon pleads guilty to Federal gun crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Fitzgerald Ingram, 24, entered his guilty plea to illegally possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony.

Ingram admitted that on July 29, 2015, he was apprehended by law enforcement after firing a rifle into a dumpster in the 6th Avenue area of Charleston. Ingram is prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because of several previous felony convictions in North Carolina Circuit Court, including taking indecent liberties with a child, failure to register as a sex offender, and assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury.

Ingram faces up to ten years in federal prison when he is sentenced on July 25, 2016.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.

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