A former George Washington High School math teacher who purchased the gun used in a Rand murder apologized to the victim's family and the Board of Education on Tuesday before being sentenced to spend a year and a day in federal prison.
Jennifer Lee Napier, 39, admitted in July that she lied to obtain a semi-automatic pistol from the Trading Post in Marmet and then gave it to a felon, Tremale Leon Straughter.
Straughter used the gun, almost two years later, to shoot and kill 29-year-old Harold Donovan "Don Don" Taylor on Feb. 14, 2013. Taylor was shot at least 25 times.
Straughter was sentenced to life in prison after admitting to a first-degree murder charge.
Napier was suspended from her teaching position earlier this year, when federal prosecutors filed the charge against her. As part of the deal she made with prosecutors, Napier agreed to voluntarily surrender her teaching certificate and not try to get it back until she completes her prison sentence.
Advisory federal sentencing guidelines recommended Napier spend between 24 to 30 months in prison. U.S. District Court Judge John Copenhaver Jr. could have sentenced Napier up to five years for the crime, but said she should be given credit for her cooperation in the case against Straughter, "Perhaps in an attempt to rectify placing the weapon in [Straughter's] hand ... that was used in such a tragic manner."
Napier was in a romantic relationship with Straughter at the time she purchased the gun, she told the judge.
"I thought I was in love with him and I did make poor decisions and I've lost everything due to that," Napier said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew told Copenhaver that the case is a perfect example of why the straw purchase of a firearm is a crime. A charge of transferring a gun to a felon was dismissed as part of Napier's deal with prosecutors.
"This case is even worse because [Napier] knew Mr. Straughter was a convicted felon," said Loew, adding it's important to note Napier's relationship with Straughter didn't involve allegations of domestic violence, as most similar cases do.
Taylor's mother, Cynthia, thanked Loew after the sentencing. She told the Gazette-Mail she knew Napier didn't know what was going to happen to her son, but was still glad to see her punished for purchasing the gun that killed him.
When Straughter pleaded guilty to the murder charge in Kanawha County Circuit Court in November 2013, a prosecutor said that if the case had gone to trial, that Straughter's former girlfriend would've testified that she purchased for him the gun that was used in the killing. Napier's attorney, Timothy Koontz, highlighted that cooperation in asking the judge Tuesday for a sentence below the advisory guidelines.
When Straughter pleaded guilty to the murder charge, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin's office agreed not to charge Straughter with being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosecutors said at the time. Straughter had served four years in federal prison on crack cocaine charges.
Koontz said the first time Napier was questioned by police was at George Washington. She moved to the high school in 2011 after teaching at John Adams Middle School, beginning in 2001.
Besides a DUI in 2013, Napier's record was unblemished, Koontz said, asking for leniency.
"She still tutors because some parents still have faith in her," said Koontz. "She never stood behind her rights - her right to be silent, ask for an attorney - she fully cooperated. ... The only time she ever contacted an attorney was after she was indicted.
"She tried to make things right after this happened."
In June, Napier was charged by South Charleston police with possessing synthetic marijuana. She also tested positive for cocaine during a drug screening, given as a condition of the $10,000 unsecured bond Copenhaver set. The judge said Napier could remain out of jail on that bond until Dec. 4, when she must surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.