Evergreen Reporter

A federal grand jury has indicted four individuals on firearms charges in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Todd M. Houston, 35, of Morgantown, West Virginia, and Kayla N. Taylor, 33, of Montrose, West Virginia, face charges related to a conspiracy to straw purchase firearms in Monongalia County. Christopher S. Damson, 27, of Kernersville, North Carolina is charged with unlawful possession of ammunition. According to court documents, Taylor falsified documents to purchase firearms for Houston, who is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior robbery and burglary convictions in the Circuit Court of Monongalia County. Damson and Houston were arrested while attempting to pawn boxes of ammunition. Damson is prohibited from possessing firearms because of a domestic violence protective order issued in Lee County, Florida.

In a separate case, Jonathon Wade Cochran, 42, of Shinnston, West Virginia has been indicted for the unlawful possession of a firearm. The indictment states that Cochran was found in Harrison County with a 9mm pistol. Cochran is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior methamphetamine, burglary, and firearms convictions in Monongalia, Marion, and Harrison Counties.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rhee is prosecuting these cases on behalf of the government.

The investigative agencies involved include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.

These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing gun violence and other violent crime by bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit Justice.gov/PSN.

An indictment is merely an allegation; each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.