Raleigh County Man Sentenced For Federal Firearms Crime
Friday, July 4, 2025, 11:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BECKLEY, W.VA.- A 30-year-old Bradley, West Virginia, man will be spending the next two-and-a-half years in federal prison, after being sentenced on Tuesday on a federal gun crime after he was found nodded out from drugs in a stolen vehicle that contained multiple firearms in Raleigh County, West Virginia, back in 2023.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, Brian K. Trent, 30, of Bradley, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk to 30 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilt to being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, Convicted Felon.
According To Court Documents
According to charging documents filed with the District Court, on September 12, 2023, members of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the Stanford area of Raleigh County, West Virginia. Upon arrival, Sheriff’s Officers found Trent and another individual passed out inside the vehicle.
During a subsequent records check of the vehicle, Sheriff’s Officers learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen in South Carolina and that Trent was wanted on an active warrant and parole violation. During a search of the vehicle, Sheriff’s Officers located and seized a Taurus 9mm handgun, a North American .22-caliber magnum revolver, a Marlin .22-caliber rifle, a Noble 12-gauge shotgun, a Taurus .32-caliber revolver, and around 27.7 grams of fentanyl.
One Of The Handguns Was Found To Stolen
A subsequent records check of the firearms uncovered that one of the seized firearms had been reported stolen in Fayette County, West Virginia.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition. Trent knew that when he possessed the handguns on September 12, 2023, he was a prohibited person due to a prior felony conviction for destruction of property in Raleigh County Circuit Court in November of 2016.
