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Sentences Handed Down in Federal Court

WHEELING – Four local residents were sentenced in federal court this week in three separate cases.

∫ Jeffrey L. Sells Jr., 26, of Moundsville, was sentenced to 41 months incarceration for unlawful possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.

Sells was found in possession of a .22 caliber pistol, three 9 mm pistols, two .22 caliber rifles, two 12-gauge shotguns, and a .223 caliber rifle in Marshall County on June 16, 2015. Sells pleaded guilty to one count of drug user and addict in possession of a firearm in September 2016.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Moundsville Police Department investigated.

∫ Jerod Kernen, 32, of Weirton, was sentenced to 51 months incarceration for illegally possessing a firearm. Kernen, who had previously been convicted of felony offenses in South Carolina, is prohibited from possessing a firearm. He admitted to possessing a .44 caliber revolver in Hancock County in August 2016.

Kernen pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm in December 2016.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Weirton Police Department, and the Steubenville Police Department investigated.

∫ Thomas Hammerstone, 34, of McMechen, was sentenced to six months incarceration for failing to register as a sex offender, Jividen said.

Hammerstone admitted to traveling in interstate commerce and failing to register and update his registration as a sex offender from November 2015 to October 2016.

Hammerstone is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act by reason of a conviction under state law.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The United States Marshals Service investigated.

∫ Clarence William Bertram, 24, of Wheeling, was sentenced to 24 months incarceration for crack cocaine distribution. Bertram pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a protected location in November 2016. He admitted to selling crack cocaine near Madison Elementary School.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided over the cases.

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