Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Larry Joe Chapman, 44, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 28, 2024, law enforcement officers responded to a reported shoplifting at a MacCorkle Avenue business in South Charleston. Officers encountered Chapman in the storage room of the business, with a knife in his hand. Officers arrested Chapman, took him outside, and searched him. Officers found a Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380-caliber pistol and merchandise belonging to the business on Chapman’s person.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Chapman knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions for breaking and entering a building other than a dwelling on February 5, 2018, and conspiracy to operate and attempt to operate a clandestine drug laboratory for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine on November 8, 2013, both in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
Chapman is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the South Charleston Police Department.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Samuel D. Marsh is prosecuting the case.
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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-125.
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