FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Kanawha Falls man was sentenced on Monday for crimes pertaining to the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person as well as possession of methamphetamine.
According to Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney, Anthony Ciliberti, Jr., on October 24, 2023, Fayette County law enforcement responded to the Kanawha Falls area regarding reports of a robbery.
Upon further investigation, authorities would learn that 44-year-old Samual F. Stewart, Jr., of Kanawha Falls had brandished a 12-gauge shotgun during the incident in question. Due to multiple past felony convictions out of the State of Illinois – including those for burglary and armed robbery – Stewart was prohibited from lawfully possessing a firearm.
Fayette County Sheriff’s Department members conducted function testing on the weapon and concluded that the shotgun was fully functional at the time of the incident.
Deputies subsequently conducted a search of the involved residence and discovered a quantity of a substance consistent with methamphetamine along with drug paraphernalia in the bedroom area. Testing at a later date by the West Virginia State Police forensic lab would confirm suspicions that the substance discovered was, in fact, methamphetamine.
On Monday, December 2, 2024, Judge Thomas H. Ewing sentenced Stewart to ten years in prison for the felony crime of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Additionally, Stewart was sentenced to six months in jail for the misdemeanor charge of possession of methamphetamine.
Sentencing followed a two-day jury trial after which the Kanawha Falls man was found guilty of the crimes in question on August 28, 2024. Notably, the State of West Virginia filed for a repeat offender sentencing enhancement, leading the court to increase the maximum sentence for the conviction by five years. The sentences were ordered by Judge Ewing to be served consecutively.
Stewart will be required to serve a minimum of two years and nine months in prison before potentially being deemed eligible for parole. The case was prosecuted by Fayette County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Sarah F. Smith.
