State of West Virginia v. Dustin Scott Gibson

Spencer, West Virginia, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with wanton endangerment and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

On January 27, 2021, the Defendant argued with his brother while performing construction work on a house in Roane County. The argument intensified, and the Defendant ultimately retrieved a shotgun, which fired,[2] hitting his brother and the porch of a nearby residence. On September 29, 2021, a Roane County grand jury indicted the petitioner on two counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm; one count of malicious or unlawful assault; one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person; four counts of use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony; one count of domestic battery; one count of domestic assault; and one count of brandishing a deadly weapon. On November 23, 2022, the petitioner's counsel moved to withdraw due to a deterioration of the attorney-client relationship; however, the Defendant's counsel withdrew this motion at the November 28, 2022, hearing. The Defendant then pled guilty to one count of wanton endangerment[3] and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person,[4]and the court accepted his guilty pleas. The Defendant thereafter failed to appear for his sentencing hearing; law enforcement captured him; and, on August 30, 2023, the circuit court sentenced the Defendant to five years of incarceration for one count of wanton endangerment and five years of incarceration for one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.[5] The circuit court ordered the Defendeant's sentences to run consecutively.

Affirmed