Woman sentenced for buying rifle for man killed in shootout
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia woman who admitted providing a firearm to a felon in the shooting death of a sheriff's deputy and the wounding of another has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Melanie Clodfelter, 41, of Summersville, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court. She pleaded guilty last year to lying on a certification form that she was the buyer when she knew she was purchasing the semi-automatic rifle for Richie Holcomb. Clodfelter admitted giving Holcomb the rifle the day of the purchase in November 2021.
Clodfelter also knew that Holcomb was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a felony unlawful wounding conviction in 2014. Holcomb gave Clodfelter money to buy the gun, according to court records.
Nicholas County Sheriff's Deputy Thomas Edward Baker III was killed and Cpl. Joshua Ellison was wounded after responding to a domestic disturbance in the Birch River area last June. Holcomb, 36, was also fatally shot.
