Inmate Pleads Guilty to Possessing Weapon at FCI McDowell

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Demoreal Killebrew, 26, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McDowell, pleaded guilty today to possession of a weapon by an inmate at a federal prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 29, 2023, an FCI McDowell staff member conducted a search of Killebrew and found a handcrafted weapon commonly known as a “shank” in his left shoe. The shank was a metal rod approximately five and one-half inches long, with a sharpened point on one end and a plastic cap on the other end as a handle. Killebrew admitted to possessing the shank, and further admitted that it was designed and intended to be used as a weapon.

Killebrew is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons is prosecuting the case.

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. 1:24-cr-108.

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