Raleigh County Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Firearms Crime

Thursday, July 17, 2025, 10:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

HUNTINGTON, W.VA.- On Monday, a 34-year-old Shady Spring, West Virginia, man with an extensive criminal history learned he could be facing up to fifteen years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing stolen firearms by a convicted felon.

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Monday, July 14, 2025, Quenin Owen Brown, 34, of Shady Spring, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers to being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, Convicted Felon.

According To Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston

     According to the charging documents filed with the District Court, on December 28, 2024, members of the Nitro Police Department encountered Brown at a gas station in Nitro, West Virginia. During the encounter, Police Officers learned that Brown was wanted on an outstanding parole violation warrant. During the arrest procedure, Police Officers found that he was in possession of a loaded Springfield Hellcat 9mm pistol concealed in a belly holster on his person. 

     After taking Brown into custody, Police Officers searched his vehicle and found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun and a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic handgun. A subsequent records check of the firearms determined that all three firearms had been reported stolen.

     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. Brown knew that when he possessed the three firearms on December 28, 2024, he was a prohibited person, due to prior felony convictions for unlawful wounding in February of 2012, and for fleeing with reckless indifference to the safety of others and possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine in November 2018, all in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

     Following entering his guilty plea on Monday, Judge Chambers accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for October 27, 2025. At that time, Brown faces up to 15 years in federal prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offenses and Brown’s prior criminal history.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the investigative work of the Nitro Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which led to Brown’s guilty plea on Monday.