Ohio Man Sentenced for a Firearms Violation, Marion County Man Admits to Firearms Charge (DOJ)

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Rodney S. Knotts, 55, of Ravenna, Ohio, was sentenced today to 20 months in federal prison for the unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Knotts sold firearms, ammunition, and firearms parts in Ritchie County. Knotts is prohibited from having firearms because of three prior felonies.

In a separate case, Daniel Earl Spell, 35, of Fairmont, West Virginia, has admitted to two counts of the unlawful possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Spell had a pistol in Marion County. Spell has a prior domestic battery conviction and a felony conviction in Monongalia County, prohibiting him from having firearms.

Spell faces up to 15 years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated both matters.

The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. [use if applicable] Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.