Charleston man sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for illegal possession of a firearm

Charleston, W.Va. – A Charleston man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced today in federal court in Charleston to 37 months in federal prison, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced.  Travis Devon Woods, 26, previously pleaded guilty on March 12, 2015, to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  On December 16, 2013, on the West Side of Charleston, members of law enforcement approached Woods to discuss an incident that had occurred nearby.  When officers asked Woods to stop to speak with them, Woods fled on foot down a nearby alley.  After a brief chase, law caught Woods and found a loaded Taurus .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol in the alley where Woods fled.  The West Virginia State Police Forensic Library matched Woods’s DNA to DNA recovered from the weapon.

Woods had previously been convicted in Kanawha County, West Virginia, in 2009 of nighttime burglary and first degree robbery. The sentence imposed by the federal court will run consecutive to a state sentence that he is currently serving for parole violations.

The Charleston Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald handled the prosecution.

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.