ATF Charleston Field Office Named Law Enforcement Agency of the Year by U.S. Attorney for SDWV

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia recently named the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Charleston Field Office the law enforcement agency of the year during the U.S. Attorney’s Law Enforcement and Victim Assistance Awards Ceremony held on October 25, 2018 at the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse.

“While honored to be recognized as the Law Enforcement Agency of the Year by U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart, we must acknowledge the outstanding efforts by the federal, state and local agencies that we work with every day,” said Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge of ATF in West Virginia and Kentucky. “Our goals are to reduce illegal gun trafficking and violence in West Virginia and ensure there is ‘no better partner’ than ATF.”             

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia (USAO-SDWV), ATF was chosen for the exemplary work by its agents in cases during the past year. The award recognized meritorious service and acts that materially contributed to the attainment of the highest standards of cooperative law enforcement and justice in the United States. Adam Black is the resident agent in charge of the ATF Charleston Field Office and supervises a team of Special Agents and state/local officers detailed to ATF.

During the past year, ATF Charleston Field Office referred 79 firearms cases with 118 defendants to the USAO-SDWV and seized 466 illegally held firearms with a street value of over $86,000.

“ATF Special Agents actively demonstrate teamwork and partnerships every day and they are helping us achieve measureable results for the citizens of West Virginia,” stated U.S. Attorney Michael B. Stuart.