Charleston resident pleads guilty to gun charge

Oct. 14—Kevin Gerard Denson, 36, of Charleston, pleaded guilty Wednesday to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, law enforcement officers were dispatched to Leon Sullivan Way in Charleston on June 30 in response to a report of shots fired. Officers encountered Denson exiting a vehicle in an alley near Jet Life Apparel.

Officers found two firearms in the vehicle, a Dickinson, model XXPA, 12-gauge shotgun and a Smith & Wesson, model M&P 15, 5.56-caliber rifle. Both firearms were loaded with high-capacity drum magazines.

Officers also found a bullet hole at the entrance to Jet Life Apparel and obtained a search warrant for the store's video surveillance system. The footage showed Denson carrying the two firearms and Jonathan Kennedy, 41, of St. Albans, running across the store while holding the shotgun following an apparent altercation outside.

Denson, because of his prior felony conviction for delivery of cocaine in Kanawha Circuit Court in 2013, is prohibited from carrying a firearm.

Denson is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 1 and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

The video surveillance footage showed Kennedy and Denson possessed the firearms after a vehicle stopped in front of Jet Life Apparel and its driver fired a pistol in the direction of the store following an apparent verbal argument. Officers recovered a spent 9mm casing from the street near where the pistol was fired from the vehicle.

Kennedy pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on Oct. 4.

Jamon L. Woodson, 39, was indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition as the alleged driver of the vehicle. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 15.

----Colin Webb, 33, of Charleston, was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for distribution of 5 or more grams of methamphetamine.

According to court records, Webb sold approximately 2 ounces of methamphetamine on Feb. 13, 2020, to a confidential informant for $760 in a Kanawha City parking lot. Webb admitted that he sold more than 150 grams of methamphetamine to confidential informants in a series of four controlled buys between Feb. 13, 2020, and July 28, 2020. Webb further admitted that a large-scale drug trafficking organization supplied him with the methamphetamine over a series of years.

----Melissa Waller, 45, of St. Albans, was ordered Thursday to pay $84,509 in restitution and sentenced to probation for five years, with the first year to be served on home detention, for theft of government benefits.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from June 2012 to April 2020, Waller received $84,509 in Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits on behalf of a deceased relative. Waller admitted that she did not have a legal right to these benefits once her relative died in April 2012. Waller further admitted that she converted the funds to her own use.

----Austin Joseph Griffith, 22, of Hernshaw, pleaded guilty Thursday to distribution of 50 grams or more or methamphetamine.

According to court records, Griffith sold approximately 560 grams of methamphetamine on Dec. 13, 2021, for $4,000 to a confidential informant at his Hernshaw residence.

Griffith is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 2 and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $10 million fine.

----Larry Arthur King, 39, of Texarkana, Arkansas, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years and seven months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court records, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on May 19 along U.S. 119 in South Charleston of a vehicle in which King was a passenger. King admitted to possessing approximately 690 grams of methamphetamine found in his backpack, and that he intended to distribute that methamphetamine.

Later that day, officers executed a search warrant at the Charleston hotel room where King was staying. King admitted to possessing approximately 446 grams of methamphetamine, more than 160 grams of fentanyl, a quantity of cocaine, and two pistols found during the search.

King has a long criminal history among four states that includes 17 criminal convictions. Five of those prior convictions were for felony offenses, including controlled substances crimes and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

----Robert Owen Johnson, 55, of Procious, pleaded guilty Thursday to distribution of child pornography.

According to court records, Johnson used Facebook and his cell phone on Feb. 20, 2021, to distribute a video of child pornography to another Facebook user during a conversation. Johnson further admitted that between 2020 and 2021, he used this Facebook account to chat with individuals and to possess and distribute child pornography.

Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 11 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, five years up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Johnson must also register as a sex offender.