FCI McDowell Inmate Sentenced For Possessing A Weapon In Prison

Friday, August 29, 2025, 11:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

BLUEFIELD, W.VA.- A 45-year-old inmate, currently serving a federal term of imprisonment at the Federal Correctional Institution McDowell, located in Welch, West Virginia, will be spending an additional thirteen months in federal prison after being sentenced on Tuesday, for possessing a “Shank” in a federal prison.

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, Demetrius McKinney, 45, appeared in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge David A. Faber to 13 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Weapon by an Inmate in a Federal Prison.

     In handing down the sentence on Tuesday, Judge Faber ordered the sentence to be served consecutively to the term of imprisonment McKinney is currently serving.

According To Charging Documents Filed With The District Court

      According to charging documents filed with the District Court, on April 24, 2024, McKinney was involved in a physical altercation while housed as an inmate at FCI McDowell. After the altercation, an FCI McDowell Corrections Officer conducted a search of McKinney and found a handcrafted weapon commonly known as a “Shank” in his right front pocket.

     The Shank was constructed out of a piece of metal approximately six and a half inches in length, with one end sharpened to a point and a cloth handle on the other end.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which led to the successful prosecution of McKinney.