Glade Spring Man Sentenced on Federal Gun Charge

Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A Glade Spring man, who was on federal supervised release when authorities discovered him illegally in possession of a firearm, was sentenced last week to 27 months in prison on a federal firearms charge and an additional 18 consecutive months on a supervised release revocation, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced today.

Joseph A. Routh, 41, pleaded guilty on May 21, 2018 to being a previously convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm. Routh was on federal supervised release at the time of his guilty plea for a previous conviction of being a felon illegally in possession of a firearm.

According to information presented at previous hearings by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Carnell, in February 2018 during a vehicle stop, federal authorities executed an arrest warrant on Routh. During the arrest and a subsequent search of the vehicle, Routh was found in possession of a .22 caliber rifle and ammunition.  

The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Carnell prosecuted the case for the United States.