Fayette County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Fayette County man pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of firearms.  Jonathan Fields, 38, was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2020, and charged with two counts of being a felon in possession of ammunition and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. 

According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Fields admitted that during the early morning hours of November 6 and 7, 2019, he was illegally hunting deer in Nicholas County, and shot two deer without a license and out of season. While doing so, he possessed two rifles, a Bushmaster Firearms 5.56 caliber rifle, with a 30-round capacity magazine, and a Remington .243 caliber rifle. On November 12, 2019, Fields left the two firearms at the home of a friend in Summersville where they were later recovered by law enforcement officers with the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  Fields further admitted that at the time he possessed the two rifles he had previously been convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the Circuit Court of Nicholas County in 2013.

Fields faces up to 87 months in prison when sentenced on June 14, 2021.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources conducted the investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).   Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Nowles Heinrich is 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 No. 2:20-cr-00128.

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