Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of West Virginia
For Immediate Release
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Michael B. Stuart
Contact: Deanna Eder
St. Albans Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison on Drug and Gun Charges
CHARLESTON, W. VA – Donald Wayne McCune of St. Albans was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for the distribution of methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of firearms, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Stuart commended the investigative work of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“Drugs and guns don’t mix. We don’t see too many drug dealers without guns,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “And all too often, like McCune, the drug dealers identified for prosecution have previous felony convictions prohibiting them from possessing firearms. The result -- federal drug and gun charges. Why? Because guns in the hands of prohibited persons risks the lives of law enforcement and the public. We cannot tolerate that whatsoever.”
McCune, 55, pled guilty on May 24, 2018, and had been in federal custody since March 2, 2018. McCune admitted that he sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant on three occasions in 2017. When officers searched his home, they found six firearms, including an AR-15 rifle and several loaded handguns. At the time, McCune was a convicted felon—he had been convicted of the felony offense of uttering in Kanawha County in 2007.
Assistant United States Attorney Gabriele Wohl handled the prosecution. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing.
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.