Kanawha County Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Trellae Nellum-Toney, 29, of St. Albans, was sentenced today to four years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for 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 to 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 also admitted that he possessed two firearms in a vehicle he was driving on January 24, 2023. Officers conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle in the Scott Depot area in Putnam County and 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.

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 imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Troy D. Adams prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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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