Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Detroit man was sentenced yesterday to federal prison on drug and firearm charges, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  Fashawn “Chops” Cannon, 28, previously entered guilty pleas to distributing Oxycodone and using a firearm during and in relation to that crime. Cannon admitted that on November 17, 2017, he sold an Oxycodone tablet to a confidential informant in Hernshaw, West Virginia, and that he carried a Hi-Point, model C9, 9mm pistol when he made that sale.  He was sentenced to a total of 78 months in prison -- 18 months on the distribution change to be served consecutively with a sentence of 5 years, or 60 months, on the firearm charge. 

U.S. Attorney Stuart commended the cooperative investigative efforts of several agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

“The really bad news here is that Detroit drug dealers have found the small community of Hernshaw,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “The good news is that Cannon will be spending quite a while in federal prison.   Make no mistake, our focus is district-wide when it comes to aggressively prosecuting violent, out-of-state drug dealers that bring their criminal activities into West Virginia.”   

Assistant United States Attorney Matt Davis was in charge of the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. handed down the sentence.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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