CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston today found Joe Claude Schleider, 66, of Charleston, guilty of willful destruction of government property following a one-day bench trial conducted earlier.Evidence at trial showed that on May 6, 2025, Schleider repeatedly struck an electric card entry scanner outside a federal facility in Charleston with a long pole-like metal object, causing approximately $1,800 in damages. Surveillance video footage showed Schleider approach the card entry scanner and strike it approximately eight times.Schleider is scheduled to be sentenced on July 6, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Federal Protective Service and the Charleston Police Department.Johnston presided over the bench trial on April 14, 2026. Assistant United States Attorneys Lesley C. Shamblin and Joshua Hanks are prosecuting the case.A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-173. ###
Source: U.S. Department of Justice