BECKLEY, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced Thursday that a Beckley man was sentenced to federal prison as a result of illegal possession of a firearm. Clevon Douglas Murray, 44, of Beckley, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Murray previously pleaded guilty in February. On April 1, 2011, agents from the United States Marshal's Task Force arrested Murray on a warrant at a residence in Beckley and found that he possessed a 9-millimeter pistol.
The defendant was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his 2003 felony conviction in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia for distribution of crack cocaine and a conviction in the Circuit Court of Raleigh County for distribution of crack cocaine.
In addition to the 70-month sentence, the Court sentenced Murray to 24 months in prison, to be served consecutively, for violating the terms of his supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Marshal's Task Force, the Beckley Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecution. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the sentencing.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
