Federal Inmate Pleads to Weapon Charge

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at McDowell pled guilty to a weapon offense, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  Devin Dantzler, 24, pled guilty to being an inmate in possession of a weapon.

Dantzler admitted that on June 26, 2019, while he was an inmate at the prison, he possessed a handcrafted weapon commonly called a “shank.”   A staff member at the prison found the shank in Dantzler’s pocket during a search.

Dantzler faces up to five years in prison when sentenced on February 3, 2020.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation.   Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney John File is handling the prosecution.