Two men from Oak Hill, Fayette County, have been sentenced to federal prison for firearm offenses. Jawuan Akil Watts, 31, received an eight-year prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. Lesley Scott Watkins, 50, was sentenced to three years and ten months in prison with an additional three years of supervised release. Both were convicted of being felons in possession of firearms.
Court records show that on July 4, 2024, Watts and others broke into a pawn shop in Fayette County three times while it was closed. They stole 33 firearms along with ammunition, coins, and a gaming console. Watts distributed many of the stolen firearms within the Oak Hill community, including to people with felony convictions. Watkins acquired several of these firearms.
On July 6, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Watkins’ residence after he sold two stolen firearms to a confidential informant. Officers found three guns during the search—two had been taken from the pawn shop. Sixteen of the stolen weapons remain unrecovered.
As part of their guilty pleas, Watts admitted to possessing a Heritage Manufacturing model Rough Rider .22-caliber revolver and a Colt model Peacemaker .22-caliber revolver on July 6, 2024. Watkins admitted to having an HS Product model XD-S .45-caliber pistol and a Sig Sauer model P220 .45-caliber pistol on July 5, 2024.
Federal law prohibits anyone with a prior felony conviction from possessing firearms or ammunition. Watts was aware he could not possess guns due to his prior burglary conviction in Raleigh County Circuit Court in July 2014. Watkins also knew he was prohibited because of his earlier conviction for delivery of a controlled substance in Fayette County Circuit Court in September 2008.
Watts has two other felony convictions and four misdemeanor convictions related to property and drug possession.
United States Attorney Moore Capito announced the sentences and recognized the efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Oak Hill Police Department in investigating the case.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger handed down the sentences. Assistant United States Attorneys D. Keith Randolph and Timothy D. Boggess prosecuted both cases.
The prosecutions are part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protecting communities from violent crime.
