Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Collinsville Man Pleads Guilty to Sawed-Off Shotgun on Blue Ridge Parkway
ROANOKE, Va. – A Collinsville, Virginia man pled guilty yesterday in United States District Court to one count of knowingly possessing an unregistered firearm, United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh has announced.
James Anthony Nolan, 28, will be sentenced on January 8, 2024, where he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
According to court documents, in March 2023, a National Park Ranger saw a black Toyota Scion parked across two parking spaces at the Roanoke River Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway. During a welfare check on the sole occupant of the vehicle, the Ranger could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the car. After Nolan admitted that he had marijuana with him, the Ranger proceeded to search the vehicle.
During the search, a backpack was discovered containing over 50 rounds of assorted ammunition and a sawed-off shotgun in operating condition. Seven expended 12-gauge shotgun shells were also present. The firearm, which was not registered as is required by federal law, was a Derya Arms, Tradition 12-gauge shotgun with black electrical tape wrapped around the buttstock and measuring approximately 21 inches in length with a 10-inch barrel. Nolan admitted to purchasing the shotgun and sawing down the barrel but claimed it was for a project he was working on.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Craig B. Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement.
The ATF and the National Park Service investigated the case.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Parker Gochenour, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section, prosecuted the case.
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