Federal Inmates Sentenced on Weapons Charges

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced today that two federal inmates were sentenced for possessing weapons.  Stuart commended the work of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

“The staff of the Bureau of Prisons has incredibly dangerous jobs,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “I commend them for preventing violence within the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) at Beckley.”

Brandon Owens, 22, an inmate at the FCI Beckley, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, to be served consecutively to the sentence he is now serving.  Owens pled guilty in January, admitting that on June 3, 2017, he possessed a handcrafted weapon, often called a “shank,” inside the waistband of his pants.  An FCI Beckley staff member found the weapon when he searched Owens. 

George A. Harper, 33, also an inmate at FCI Beckley, was sentenced to 12 months, also to be served consecutively to his current prison sentence.  He pled guilty in January, and admitted that on July 16, 2017, he hid a shank in his coffee cup.  A prison staff member found the shank inside the cup. 

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentences.  The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John File.

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