Charleston Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Ricky Steve John, 50, of Charleston, was sentenced today to three years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 20, 2024, a law enforcement officer responded to a report of a break-in at a church in the West Side neighborhood of Charleston and detained John after seeing him in the area. The officer found that John had an outstanding warrant and arrested him. After John was placed in custody, an unloaded Ruger model EC9 9mm semiautomatic pistol fell out of his pant leg.

Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. John knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for voluntary manslaughter in Kanawha County Circuit Court on July 21, 2016.

John has a long criminal history that also includes prior convictions for aggravated vehicular assault, theft, and possession of a weapon. The investigation of the current offense established that John possessed three different firearms over approximately six weeks that he traded or attempted to trade for drugs or other firearms. Two of those firearms were stolen from vehicles on Charleston’s West Side.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Charleston Police Department-Special Enforcement Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Samuel D. Marsh and Alexander A. Redmon prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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 No. 2:24-cr-136.

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