Raleigh County Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Firearms Charge
Saturday, July 12, 2025, 9:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BECKLEY, W.VA.- A 55-year-old Cool Ridge, West Virginia, man, will be facing up to 15 years in federal prison, after pleading guilty on Wednesday to a federal firearms charge involving the sale of a handgun to a confidential informant late last summer.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, Francis Combs, 55, of Cool Ridge, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn to a federal firearms violation for being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, Convicted Felon.
Following entering his guilty plea, Judge Aboulhosn accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for November 14, 2025. At that time, Combs faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
According To Court Documents
According to charging documents and statements made in the District Court, on August 1, 2024, during a narcotics investigation, Combs sold a Jimenez Arms 9mm handgun to a confidential informant. During his plea allocution, Combs admitted to possessing the firearm and further admitted to selling a substance containing a quantity of fentanyl to the confidential informant during the firearms transaction, which took place at Combs’ Cool Ridge, West Virginia, residence.
During Wednesday’s plea hearing, Combs also admitted to selling a substance containing fentanyl and a Bryco Arms .22-caliber pistol to a confidential informant in Raleigh County, West Virginia, on July 30, 2024.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction or a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence from owning or possessing a firearm and ammunition. Combs knew that when he possessed the firearm and sold it to the confidential informant, he was a prohibited person due to prior felony convictions for first-degree robbery in Raleigh County Circuit Court in June of 2007, and being a felon in possession of a firearm in Wyoming County Circuit Court in October of 2023.
