WARNER TARGETS GUN CRIMES

Criminals from other states who want to buy guns have learned that West
Virginia is open for business. And drugs are the desired tender. The
gun-and-drugs link keeps law enforcement officers, prosecutors and the
courts busy. But U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner said he is trying to send a
strong message to criminals.

"We're focusing very hard on gun crimes," said Warner. "And I think the
word is on the street. Our prosecutions are way up. We're never going to do
away with it entirely, but I think we are no-nonsense about guns." Warner
admits that West Virginia is a place where plenty of guns are owned, used
and sold. And that means criminals from other states often buy guns here.
"There are just certain pockets where people own large numbers of firearms,
and West Virginia is one of them," said Warner. "It's easy to get guns
here. There's a very robust firearms trade in this state.

"I know a lot of other U.S. attorneys, and they tell me that there are a
large number of firearms in their cities and an unbelievably large number
of gun crimes they can link back to West Virginia," he said. "I realize
that's a problem," Warner said. "I know that firearms from West Virginia
are impacting other parts of the country. So I think we are doing the right
thing."

The right thing, according to Warner, is a hard-hitting education campaign
aimed at youngsters with slogans like "Hard Time for Gun Crime" and "Free
Bling Bling if you take a gun to school." The latter slogan accompanies an
image of a pair of handcuffs.

It also means coming down especially hard on gun crimes in Warner's office.
According to statistics from the U.S. Attorney's Office, federal firearm
prosecutions have increased 41.2 percent in the past four years in southern
West Virginia. There have been 72 prosecutions this year. "That's pretty
hefty," Warner said.

But Warner admits the battle is a difficult one. "In West Virginia, you can
buy guns from an individual or at a flea market," he said. "There are
exclusions to going through a federally licensed dealer. West Virginia
allows that; some states do not.

"Basically, if you are a criminal, and you want a gun and someone won't
sell one to you, you can put the word out on the street that you need a
firearm," Warner said. "Someone is going to get it to you.

"It's the huge supply of guns we have here plus the demand. That equals low
prices," he said. "And what we see is a lot of people trading guns for
drugs. "If you can knock down the drug trade, you'd have a big impact on
guns," he said. "They are one and the same.

"But they bring the drugs here and conduct business up a hollow or in the
back woods, where no one is watching," Warner said. "And they can make the
trade. "We don't have enough law enforcement officers in the state, and the
ones we have are very busy with all types of crime," Warner said. "And
there's an attitude in West Virginia -- people like their guns." Warner, a
gun owner himself, knows that West Virginians don't appreciate anyone
stepping on their right to carry a firearm. But that attitude is a problem
for him as a prosecutor.

"It's very tough, if not impossible, to find a jury to convict on a gun
charge unless it's especially egregious," he said. "They just won't do it."