Poca man sentenced to over seven years in federal prison for gun charge

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Poca man caught with a loaded gun and drugs after a car chase was sentenced today to seven years and three months in federal prison for a gun crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Steven Eugene Adkins, 37, previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Adkins admitted that on January 14, 2016, he possessed a loaded Smith & Wesson Model 22A-1 pistol. Adkins was prohibited under federal law from possessing any firearm because of two previous convictions in Kanawha County Circuit Court for possession with intent to deliver marijuana. At the time Adkins possessed the handgun, Adkins additionally admitted that he ran a red light in St. Albans. In response, a St. Albans Police Department patrol officer attempted a traffic stop. Adkins further admitted that he did not attempt to stop, and during the course of the subsequent chase, he exceeded the speed limit, passed vehicles despite the double yellow line, and drove the wrong way on a one-way street. The car chase ended in Nitro and Adkins admitted that he exited the vehicle and was apprehended after a brief foot chase. Law enforcement recovered the gun and methamphetamine from Adkins. Officers also seized 40 knives and a machete from the vehicle.

The investigation was conducted by the St. Albans Police Department, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the West Virginia State Police and the South Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Clint Carte is responsible for the prosecution. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence.

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 existing local programs targeting gun crime. This case was also prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat illegal drugs in our communities, including methamphetamine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.

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