Press Release
Federal jury finds St. Albans man guilty of gun crime
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A federal jury sitting in Charleston returned a guilty verdict yesterday in the trial of a St. Albans man for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Cleveland McDowell Meador, IV, 43, was convicted following a one-day jury trial.
Witnesses for the United States testified that on May 10, 2017, Meador gave permission to officers with the St. Albans Police Department to search his home on Bard Avenue in St. Albans. During the search, an officer discovered a Hi-Point, Model C9, 9mm pistol in an air register vent in the ceiling of Meador’s home. After Meador’s arrest, law enforcement read him his Miranda rights and in a recorded interview, Meador admitted that he put the gun in the air register vent, that he was a convicted felon, and that he knew that he was not supposed to have a gun. Meador was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because of a 2016 felony conviction in Kanawha County Circuit Court for third offense driving while license revoked for driving under the influence.
Meador faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on January 17, 2018.
The St. Albans Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Bacaj and Clint Carte are in charge of the prosecution and tried the case before a federal jury. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the trial.
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 with existing local programs targeting gun crime.
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Updated October 18, 2017
Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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