Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Charge

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, during the summer of 2021, Michael Antonio Smith, 49, kept firearms and drugs in his residence in Rand for a member of a multi-state methamphetamine distribution organization operating in and around Charleston.  On September 29, 2021, police executed a federal search warrant at Smith’s residence on Elaine Drive where they recovered four firearms and approximately 34 grams of methamphetamine.  Smith is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his two prior felony convictions in Kanawha County Circuit Court for wanton endangerment with a firearm and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.   

Smith is one of seventeen defendants charged as a result of this investigation. Angie Lane Harbour and Denise Marie Cottrill pleaded guilty to methamphetamine charges in February.  James Edward Bennett pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on March 2, 2021.  Brian Dangelo Terry and Jason Robert Oxley are scheduled to plead guilty on March 14, 2022.  

Smith pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 9, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the plea hearing.  Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Hanks and Alex Hamner are handling the prosecution.

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 Nos. 2:21-cr-211, 2:21-cr-172, and 2:21-cr-171.

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