Huntington Man Sentenced For Possessing A Sawed-Off Shotgun

Thursday, January 16, 2025, 7:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

HUNTINGTON, W.VA.- On Monday, January 13, 2025, Weslee Nathaniel Black, 39, of Huntington, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers to 8 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea for Possession of a Short-Barrel Shotgun not Registered to Him.

     According to U.S. Attorney Will Thompson and documents filed with the District Court, on March 28, 2024, during a motor vehicle stop of a stolen vehicle that was being driven by Black, members of the Huntington Police Department after stopping the vehicle in the 1300 Block Marcum Terrace, Police Officers ordered Black to exit the vehicle.

Police Officers Learn Black Was Convicted Of Domestic Battery

     Upon exiting the vehicle, Police Officers arrested Black for grand larceny of a motor vehicle. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, Police Officers located and seized a Hatfield 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun. During a records check, Police Officers learned that the shotgun was not registered to Black and that he had been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.

     During questioning and his earlier plea allocution, Black admitted that he possessed the shotgun, that he knew it had a shortened barrel when he purchased it, and that it was not registered to him in the federal firearm database. Black further admitted that he knew he was prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm due to his prior misdemeanor domestic battery conviction in Cabell County Magistrate Court in January 2023.