Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Trellae Nellum-Toney, 29, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 22, 2022, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Nellum-Toney in St. Albans. Nellum-Toney admitted that he got out of his vehicle and threw a Raven Arms, model P-25, .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a baggie of suspected heroin onto the ground. Officers recovered the firearm and controlled substance.

Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Nellum-Toney knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for first-degree robbery in Kanawha County Circuit Court on August 26, 2014.

Nellum-Toney further admitted to possessing two firearms found by officers following a January 24, 2023 traffic stop of a vehicle he was driving in the Scott Depot area of Putnam County. Officers found a Taurus, model 709 Slim, 9mm semi-automatic pistol under the driver’s seat and a Savage, model Stevens 320, 20-gauge shotgun in the vehicle’s trunk. Nellum-Toney admitted that he now knows the 9mm pistol was reported stolen from a St. Albans residence on September 26, 2021.

Nellum-Toney is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Troy Adams 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. 2:23-cr-34. 

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