CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) — A man was sentenced today 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for participation in a 4th of July 2021 murder scheme.
Douglas Johnathan Wesley, 33 was found guilty by a federal jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which occurred on May 26, 2022.
Evidence at the trial proved that Wesley was one of 4 men who armed themselves at a Rand residence on July 4, 2021, and drove to Charleston’s West Side where they intentionally shot at another man.
Police in marked police vehicles became known to this incident and came to scene in that area. At that point, the 4 men abandoned their vehicle in a Lee Street parking lot due to the increase of police entering the scene. Law enforcement officers decided to execute a search warrant on the vehicle and recovered four loaded firearms. The jury found that Wesley was an owner of one of those firearms, a Sig Sauer, Model SP2022, .40-caliber pistol.
Federal law states, a person with a prior felony conviction is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Wesley was aware when he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions, which include as stated:
- For first-degree robbery, in Kanawha County Circuit Court on August 4, 2005. Wesley participated in the armed robbery of the Empty Glass Café on Elizabeth Street in Charleston on May 2, 2004.
- For being a felon in possession of a firearm, in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on June 10, 2013. Wesley shot a known individual near the Kickback Lounge located on Central Avenue in Charleston on February 5, 2012. Wesley left the scene of the shooting and returned a few minutes later where he shot the same individual a second time. The victim was seriously wounded, but survived. The incident was captured on video surveillance from a neighboring building. Wesley was on supervised release for this conviction at the time of the July 2021 murder scheme.
Douglas Johnathan Wesley is among 17 individuals that have already been charged with various drug and firearms offenses in three separate indictments.
This was a result from a previous investigation of hefty methamphetamine conspiracy, which operated in and around St. Albans and South Charleston.
All 17 defendants have pleaded guilty or were otherwise convicted.