A man from Monongalia County, West Virginia, was sentenced for illegally possessing a firearm, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Jamie Russell Jones, 47, received a sentence of 33 months in federal prison. The case began when law enforcement officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle and saw Jones exiting the car. Officers detected the smell of marijuana and conducted a lawful search of the vehicle. They found a backpack containing three handguns, methamphetamine, marijuana, and an empty firearm magazine. Authorities determined that all three firearms had been reported stolen earlier in 2024 from a residence in Gassaway, West Virginia. Jones is not allowed to possess firearms due to previous convictions related to firearms and theft.
After completing his prison term, Jones will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Rhee prosecuted the case for the government. The investigation involved the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the West Virginia State Police; and the Gassaway Police Department.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided over the case.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, which is described as “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.”
