Southern District of West Virginia

BECKLEY, WV – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Kenyata E. Smith, 34, of Beckley, West Virginia pleaded guilty in federal court in Beckley to passing counterfeit money. Smith admitted that on April 6, 2014, she passed $100 in counterfeit money at the Dairy Queen in Beaver, West Virginia.

Smith, who is scheduled to be sentenced on October 21, 2015, faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.

This case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Bacaj is handling the prosecution.

KLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Sophia woman was sentenced in federal court in Beckley for a federal drug offense.  Andrea Austin, age 43, of Sophia, West Virginia  was sentenced to five years of probation plus 100 hours of community service.  Austin previously pled guilty in February of 2015, to distributing heroin to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities.  The drug deal took place on East Camilia Street in Sophia.

This case was investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and is being prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative directed by the United States Attorney’s Office.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The United States Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Christopher Lee Saunders, 42, of Beckley, West Virginia, plead guilty in federal court in Beckley to distributing oxymorphone.  Saunders admitted that on January 22, 2015, he sold oxymorphone to a confidential informant working with law enforcement authorities.  The drug deal took place on the WalMart parking lot located at Robert C. Byrd Drive in MacArthur, West Virginia.  

Saunders faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  United States District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled the sentencing for October 8, 2015.

The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigation.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The United States Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

Huntington, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Steven Dale McCallister, age 41, of Huntington, West Virginia was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Huntington to 44 months in federal prison. McCallister previously pled guilty in March of 2015, admitting that in November of 2014 he possessed heroin that he had intended to sell from his Barboursville residence. The heroin was discovered when agents of the Huntington Violent Crime Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at McCallister’s home.

At the time McCallister was found with the heroin, he was on supervised release for a federal gun charge. McCallister, who admitted to the court that his possession of heroin violated the terms of his supervised release, was sentenced to an additional period of incarceration of 24 months to be served after the 44 months sentence on the heroin charge.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of heroin and prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal heroin and  pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.

Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today the filing of an information against the Bank of Mingo. The bank is charged with violating the Bank Secrecy Act from January 2009 through April 2012 by failing to develop, implement, and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. The Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions like Bank of Mingo to develop and maintain programs for the detection and reporting of suspicious activity that might be a warning sign of money laundering. In this case, Bank of Mingo was charged with failing to implement internal controls that would have resulted in the bank obtaining “know-your-customer” information, failing to prevent customers from structuring cash transactions to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements, and failing to file “suspicious activity reports” about certain dubious conduct, such as the structuring of cash transactions.

The United States Attorney also filed a motion with the District Court requesting that all proceedings in the case, including trial, be deferred for a period of twelve months from the filing of the information. As stated in the motion, the United States Attorney and Bank of Mingo have signed an agreement, which includes a “Stipulation of Facts” wherein the bank admits the conduct with which it is charged. The deferment will allow the bank to demonstrate its acceptance of responsibility and to take remedial measures to correct its past, wrongful conduct.  The bank agrees to cooperate with the United States and to forfeit $2.2 million, representing an amount that was involved in illegally-structured currency transactions.

In the Stipulation of Facts, the bank acknowledged that it failed to detect and report unusual and large cash transactions by employees and agents of Aracoma Contracting, LLC., which was in the business of providing contract labor to coal mining and coal-mining related operations in southern West Virginia. In a related criminal case against Aracoma Contracting, the company admitted, as part of a plea agreement, that it routinely paid wages to certain employees in cash, and withheld no money from those wages, all for the purpose of evading employment taxes. To generate sufficient cash to make the cash payroll in a manner that would not cause the bank to generate currency transaction reports, Aracoma Contracting’s principals, Jerome Russell and Frelin Workman, arranged for cash to be withdrawn from Bank of Mingo’s Williamson branch in amounts of less than $10,000. In this way, Aracoma Contracting structured at least $2.2 million out of Bank of Mingo from January 2009 through April 2012. As a result, Aracoma Contracting pled guilty to conspiring to structure currency transactions.

Bank of Mingo has admitted that its Williamson branch manager instructed Russell and Workman to get the cash for Aracoma Contracting’s cash payroll by requesting advances from a line of credit and by identifying a specific employee who would be picking up the cash. The branch manager or his assistant approved these requests, and Bank of Mingo would subsequently prepare a cashier’s check in the name of the identified employee, who would simply endorse the check in return for cash. The amounts typically were less than $10,000. In this fashion, Aracoma Contracting made multiple cash withdrawals on the same day. Furthermore, because the cash withdrawals were entered in records in the names of the employees and not Aracoma Contracting, there was nothing to indicate that more than $10,000 had been drawn from the line of credit on the same banking day. Consequently, Bank of Mingo did not file currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports when it otherwise should have done so.

United States Attorney R. Booth Goodwin II emphasized the importance of compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and why financial institutions must have effective anti-money laundering programs. “These are not just simply technical violations. Illegal structuring enables and helps to conceal larger criminal schemes. Had Bank of Mingo maintained an effective anti-money laundering program, other criminal activity might have been nipped in the bud,” United States Attorney Goodwin said.

The investigation of the case against Bank of Mingo was conducted by special agents and law enforcement officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General, and the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Philip H. Wright and former AUSA Thomas C. Ryan handled the prosecution of Bank of Mingo.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the Department of Treasury, conducted parallel civil investigations of Bank of Mingo. FDIC and FinCEN have assessed civil money penalties against the bank.

MAN SENTENCED FOR EXTORTION SCHEME AT ARCH MINE

Charleston, W.Va. --  Former Mountain Laurel Mining Complex General Manager David E. Runyon, 45, of Delbarton, Mingo County, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine for extortion and tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin.

Runyon admitted that as general manager of the mining complex, he participated in and benefitted from a number of extortion schemes where he and other Arch Coal employees were paid cash kickbacks from complicit Mountain Laurel vendors in exchange for the vendors’ continued business at Mountain Laurel.  The cash kickbacks to Arch Coal employees totaled more than 1.8 million dollars between 2006 through 2013. These kickbacks included:

• The Rebuild Kickback Scheme, where Runyon and others received  kickbacks from companies engaged in rebuilding mine equipment at Mountain Laurel.  These companies included Tri-State Mine Service, Inc., owned by Scott Ellis and later joined by Stephen Herndon after he left employment at Arch Coal, Carter Sales and Service and Apex Mining Construction and Repair, Inc, owned by Donald Carter.  Ellis, Carter, and later Herndon understood that they would no longer be vendors for Mountain Laurel if they stopped paying kickbacks.
• The Miner/Bolter Repair Kickback Scheme, where Runyon and others received kickbacks from Ronald Barnette, who owned Mining Repair Specialist, Inc. (“MRS”).  MRS performed rebuild and repair work on mining equipment at Mountain Laurel.  Barnette understood if he did not pay the kickbacks, MRS would no longer get rebuild work at Mountain Laurel.
• The Construction Work Kickback Scheme, where Runyon received kickbacks from Alvis Porter, who operated Quality Oil, Inc. d/b/a Southern Construction of Logan.  Porter’s company performed a variety of construction services at Mountain Laurel, and Porter paid the kickbacks to keep the Mountain Laurel work.
• The Contract Labor Kickback Scheme, where Runyon received kickbacks from David Herndon.  David Herndon owned and operated MAC Mine Service, Inc., which provided contract labor at Mountain Laurel. David Herndon paid the kickbacks because he believed that  he would lose the business at Mountain Laurel if the kickbacks were not paid.

Runyon admitted that he received approximately $1 million through these kickback schemes. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1 million to Arch Coal and $325,485 to the Internal Revenue Service.

“The payment of kickbacks is nothing more than negotiated bribery.  Kickbacks undermine fair and legitimate business practices, eliminate competition and inevitably impact costs passed along to consumers.  These are not victimless crimes, because in the end we all lose when the free market is compromised by such corruption,” said United States Attorney Booth Goodwin.

Today’s charge stems from an investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the West Virginia State Police.  Assistant United States Attorney Meredith George Thomas is in charge of the prosecution.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that a man from Kanawha County pleaded guilty today in federal court in Charleston to unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm.  Joshua Devere, 33, of Charleston entered a guilty plea to possession of a stolen firearm.  On September 27, 2013, Devere stole a Remington 12-guage shotgun from the Trading Post sporting goods store in Marmet, Kanawha County, West Virginia. 

Devere faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on September 9, 2015.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Marmet Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced that a Logan County man pleaded guilty to making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of firearms. Brian Keith Conley, 42, of Logan, admitted that he lied when attempting to retrieve three firearms he pawned at a local pawn shop.

Conley admitted that on October 29, 2014, in connection with attempting to retrieve the firearms, he completed a required federal form on which he claimed he had never been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. In fact, Conley knew he had previously been convicted in Logan County Magistrate Court of the misdemeanor crime of domestic battery. Conley was unable to retrieve the guns from the pawn shop, and law enforcement was alerted to Conley’s possession and subsequent attempt to retrieve the firearms.

Conley faces up to 5 years’ imprisonment when he is sentenced on September 1, 2015. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. is presiding over the case.

The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney C. Haley Bunn handled the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.

Huntington, W. Va. -  Sandra Ball, 58, of Hurricane, West Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to three years in federal prison for defrauding her employer of nearly $450,000, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.

From 2008 through 2013, while working as an auditor for Mountaineer 4x4, Ball made hundreds of Internet transactions in which she used her employer’s checking account to pay for personal items and expenses. She pleaded guilty to two felony counts of wire fraud in March 2015.

In addition to prison time, Ball was ordered to repay more than $445,000 to Mountaineer 4x4, a Hurricane business that deals in accessories for trucks and SUVs.

The case was prosecuted as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s effort to combat employee theft from West Virginia businesses. The Hurricane Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.

Huntington, W. Va. - Teresa Lewis, 60, of South Point, Ohio, was sentenced yesterday to a year and a day in federal prison for defrauding the Huntington Retina Center, where she worked, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.

From 2012 to 2014, Lewis, working as a billing assistant at the Huntington Retina Center, used her position to gain access to credit cards in the name of the Center and one of its doctors. Lewis used the cards to make more than $52,000 in unauthorized personal purchases. She pleaded guilty in March 2015 to two felony counts of access device fraud.

The Huntington Retina Center provides medical care for vision disorders, eye injuries, and eye diseases. As part of her sentence, Lewis must repay $52,317 to the Center.

The case was prosecuted as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s effort to combat employee theft from West Virginia small businesses. The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,  and the Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man who sold heroin to a confidential informant on multiple occasions in 2014 pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Tayvon Mykal Gaulds, 21, entered a guilty plea in federal court in Huntington admitting that he distributed heroin.

On November 12, 2014, Gaulds arranged to sell heroin to a confidential informant working at the direction of the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force.  Gaulds met the informant in the 1800 block of 9 1/2 alley in Huntington and sold the informant approximately 5 grams of heroin in exchange for $650.  Gaulds also distributed heroin to the informant on two other occasions in Huntington.

Gaulds faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 24, 2015.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man who sold heroin to a confidential informant on multiple occasions in 2014 pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Tayvon Mykal Gaulds, 21, entered a guilty plea in federal court in Huntington admitting that he distributed heroin.

On November 12, 2014, Gaulds arranged to sell heroin to a confidential informant working at the direction of the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force.  Gaulds met the informant in the 1800 block of 9 1/2 alley in Huntington and sold the informant approximately 5 grams of heroin in exchange for $650.  Gaulds also distributed heroin to the informant on two other occasions in Huntington.

Gaulds faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 24, 2015.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two Michigan men who were part of a conspiracy that funneled large quantities of heroin from Detroit to Huntington between 2012 and 2014 were sentenced to federal prison today, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Robert Lamar Payne, 31, of Detroit, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison and Derrick Wayne Goodwin, 25, also of Detroit, was sentenced to 74 months in federal prison. Both men previously  pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington in February of 2015 to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

Payne admitted that from 2012 to 2014, he conspired with others to distribute heroin from Detroit in the Huntington area.  Members of the conspiracy used multiple Huntington residences to store, prepare and distribute the drugs.

Payne and Goodwin also used an apartment at 1002 12th Avenue in Huntington as a base for distribution.   In February of 2014, a confidential informant made multiple purchases of heroin from Payne from that apartment.  On February 13, 2014, agents executed a search warrant at the apartment and seized approximately 41 grams of heroin and two firearms.  That same day, agents searched a room at the Super 8 Motel on 16th Street Road in Huntington where they found Payne and Goodwin with approximately 200 grams of heroin.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation with assistance from the Huntington Police Department  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Parkersburg man who was shot during his arrest in July of 2014 was sentenced today to seven years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced.  Paul Christopher Johnson, 43, of Parkersburg, West Virginia previously pleaded guilty in February of 2015 to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  On July 15, 2014, officers of the Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force attempted to serve Johnson with an arrest warrant as he was in a parked vehicle on Bird Street in Parkersburg.  Johnson got out of his vehicle, pointed a loaded Taurus .45 caliber pistol at police and told them he was “not going back [to prison].”  As officers attempted to convince Johnson to put down the weapon and surrender, he got back into the vehicle and drove away.  Police caught up with him and stopped him at the corner of Plum Street and Washington Avenue.  Johnson again got out of the vehicle and pointed his pistol at the responding officers.  Johnson refused to obey commands to drop the weapon and moved toward the officers while waving the gun. Officers fired and wounded Johnson.  According to his criminal record, Johnson had been previously convicted of the felony offenses of aggravated robbery and third offense shoplifting.  On July 15, 2014, police were attempting to arrest Johnson for a drug trafficking offense.

Because the Parkersburg Police Department and the Wood County Sheriff’s Department were involved in the arrest, this investigation was conducted by the West Virginia State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hanks handled the prosecution.  The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Gary Brian Adams, 35, of Logan, West Virginia pleaded guilty today in federal court in Charleston to being a convicted felon in possession of three firearms.  In May of 2013, officers with the West Virginia State Police and the Logan County Sheriff’s Department responded to a home near Chapmanville and recovered three firearms that Adams had stored in the home.  Adams has two prior felony drug trafficking convictions from Logan County, so he is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms. Adams faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment when he is sentenced on August 27, 2015.

This case was investigated by the West Virginia State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.   

Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that David Matthew Little, age 37, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia pled guilty in federal court in Charleston to conspiring with other people to distribute more than 5 grams of pure crystal methamphetamine. Little admitted that from early 2014 until December of that same year, he conspired with his wife, Cheri Little, to distribute methamphetamine at his home  and other places in Cross Lanes. Little admitted that he obtained ounce quantities of methamphetamine from an unnamed source, paying $1375.00 per ounce, and then resold part of the meth for a profit. Because of the purity of the drug distributed by Little, he faces from a mandatory minimum of five years up to 40 years imprisonment and a $5,000,000.00 fine when he is sentenced on August 19, 2015.

The case was investigated by members of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Frail.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Kelly Gerald Crosby, 32, from Logan County, West Virginia, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston to mailing threatening communications.  On September 8, 2014, Crosby was incarcerated at the Southwestern Regional Jail on a state charge related to using minors to film sexually explicit conduct.  While incarcerated, Crosby mailed a letter delivered to the Logan County Courthouse, in which Crosby made threats to workers, public officials and others in the Logan County area.  The letter included threats to “kill, rape and make suffer” the individuals he identified in the letter.

Crosby faces up to 5 years in federal prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 19, 2015.

United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the plea hearing.

The investigation is being conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, and Logan County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is handling the prosecution.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A woman who distributed heroin from her Huntington apartment pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Patricia Lynn Petrie, 51, entered a guilty plea in federal court in Huntington to maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing heroin.

 In August of 2012, agents with the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force observed Petrie on multiple occasions engaging in what appeared to be drug deals near her apartment at 1112 9th Street, Apartment 4 in Huntington.  Agents stopped Petrie outside her apartment on August 23, 2012 and recovered a small quantity of heroin.  Agents subsequently searched her apartment and recovered 33 individually wrapped bags of heroin.  Petrie admitted as part of her plea that she intended to distribute the heroin seized by the task force agents.

Petrie faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 17, 2015.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force and Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Steven Adams, age 47, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Thomas E. Johnston to five months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release with the first five months of supervised release to be on home confinement. Adams previously pled guilty in February of 2015, admitting that heroin found in his possession at the Greyhound Bus Station in Charleston, West Virginia on June 16, 2014, was his and that he intended to transport it from Charleston to Detroit for distribution. Members of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), conducting surveillance at the bus station on that date, discovered the heroin during a conversation with Adams.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of heroin and  prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal heroin and pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -  A 60-year old Cabell County man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty today to failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced.  Ronnie Alvin Howard, of Huntington, West Virginia, entered a guilty plea before Chief District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers.

Howard was convicted in 2007 in Michigan of two counts of Assault with Intent to Commit Second Degree Sexual Assault involving minor victims.  These convictions require Howard to register as a sex offender. Howard was also convicted of Second Degree Sexual Assault in 1980 in Michigan.  In August of 2012, Howard moved to Huntington, West Virginia, and did not register as a sex offender despite knowing it was required by law.   He continued to reside and work in Huntington without registering until his arrest on February 18, 2015.

The court scheduled sentencing for Howard for August 17, 2015, in Huntington, West Virginia.

The United States Marshals Service and the West Virginia State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being brought as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s ongoing initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse in the Southern District of West Virginia.

Bluefield, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber sentenced two Mercer County women in federal court in Bluefield on drug offenses.  Regina Conley, 33, of Princeton, was sentenced to18 months in prison for distribution of a quantity of oxycodone.  Conley pled guilty in January of 2015, admitting that on August 27, 2014, she distributed six oxycodone pills to a confidential informant in Princeton.  She admitted that she had distributed a total of 55 oxycodone pills over a period of time.

Julie Walters, 36, of Bluefield, was given probation for distribution of hydromorphone.  She also pled guilty in January of 2015, admitting that on May 29, 2014, she distributed one hydromorphone pill to a confidential informant in Brushfork, West Virginia.  Walters admitted that she distributed a total of 13 hydromorphone pills over a period of time.

These cases were investigated by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force under the Bluefield Pill Initiative, part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.  The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John File. 

Operation White Water Blitz targeting sex offenders in Nicholas, Fayette and Greenbrier Counties found 45 sex offenders out of compliance

BECKLEY, W.Va. – A major law enforcement blitz aimed at verifying compliance of more than 300 registered sex offenders currently residing in three southern West Virginia counties found 45 offenders out of compliance, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, U.S. Marshal John D. Foster, and West Virginia State Police Lt. Michael Baylous announced today during a press conference in Beckley, W.Va. This week’s law enforcement sweep covered Nicholas, Fayette and Greenbrier counties.  

The initiative, known as Operation White Water Blitz, is a multi-agency law enforcement effort targeting registered sex offenders to determine individual compliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, also known as SORNA. Led by the U.S. Marshals Service’s Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division (CUFFED), the operation targeted 304 registered sex offenders.  A total of 45 individuals were determined to be out of compliance within the Southern District of West Virginia during checks conducted this week. The violations ranged in severity from individuals who had failed to register vehicles or cell phones to one individual in Nicholas County who was in possession of three firearms and growing 76 marijuana plants on his property.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said, “Registering as a sex offender is not optional.  It’s not something that offenders can simply put on the back burner or casually get around to completing whenever they feel like it.  It’s mandatory.” Goodwin continued, “I’ve made prosecuting sex offenders who violate federal registration requirements one of my office’s top priorities.  Today I want to reiterate that message: If you are out of compliance, we will track you down and we will bring you to justice.”   

Operation White Water Blitz was initiated by members of the West Virginia State Police, in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Service’s CUFFED Division.

“One registered sex offender out of compliance is one too many,” U.S. Marshal John Foster said.  “The U.S. Marshals Service is thoroughly committed to tracking down fugitives who attempt to evade the law.”

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248). SORNA provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States.

Charleston, W.Va. – Deangelo Cann, 25, of Detroit, Michigan, pled guilty today in federal court in Charleston to distribution of oxymorphone. Cann admitted that on each of February 2 and 3, 2015, he sold the prescription drugs to a confidential informant (CI) working with the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT). Both transactions, which occurred in a vehicle in Charleston, were witnessed by  an undercover police officer who accompanied the CI. Cann faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000.00 fine when he is sentenced on August 24, 2015.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

This case was investigated by MDENT.  AUSA John Frail is responsible for the prosecution.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Charles Corey Michael, 32, of Charleston, West Virginia pleaded guilty today in federal court in Charleston to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.  In March of 2015, officers with the Charleston Police Department executed a search warrant at Michael’s apartment on Charleston’s East End and recovered several firearms and heroin.  Michael has a prior felony drug conviction from Ohio, so he is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms. Michael faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment when he is sentenced on August 13, 2015.

This case was investigated by the Charleston Police Department. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.   

Beckley, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a mother and son pled guilty before United States District Judge Irene C. Berger in Beckley.  Tricia Diane Arbaugh, 43, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, pled guilty to traveling in interstate commerce to facilitate unlawful activity.  She faces up to five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.  She admitted that she brought oxycodone and oxymorphone from Tennessee and distributed them in Lewisburg, West Virginia.  Her son, Jeffrey Stephen McCallister, 24, also of Murfreesboro, pled guilty to two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a felony.  He admitted that he used a telephone on one occasion to set up a drug deal in which he sold oxymorphone to a confidential information working with authorities, and on another occasion to set up a transaction in which he sold oxymorphone and buprenorphine to an informant. He faces up to eight years in prison and a fine of $500,000.  The sentencings are set for August 26, 2015.

These cases were investigated by the Greenbrier Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force under the Greenbrier Valley Heroin and Pill Initiative, part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.  Assistant United States Attorney John File prosecuted the cases.

Beckley, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that United States District Judge Irene C. Berger sentenced a former Federal Bureau of Prisons employee to 14 months in federal prison for abusive sexual contact involving a ward.  Richard Canterbury, 50, of Lewisburg, West Virginia pled guilty in January of 2015, admitting that in April of 2014, he touched the breasts of a female inmate at the Federal Prison Camp at Alderson while he was overseeing her work. Judge Berger also ordered that following his release from prison Canterbury will be on supervised release for five years and he must register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecution.

P.A. Was Employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons

Beckley, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that defendant Scotty Rose was convicted yesterday after a two-day jury trial in federal court in Beckley, West Virginia.  Rose was convicted of tampering with a federal witness.  Rose, 41, from Beckley worked in the Federal Correctional Institution in Beckley as a physician’s assistant. On February 6, 2013, Rose disclosed to an inmate that another inmate was wearing a wire and working for the FBI as an informant. The informant identified by Rose was, in fact, working with the FBI on a large scale methamphetamine trafficking investigation, and was wearing a recording device to further the investigation.  News of the inmate informant spread quickly throughout the correctional facility, which placed the informant at risk.  As a result, the informant was moved from the from the facility for his own safety, and the FBI investigation of the methamphetamine trafficking ring was abruptly terminated.

Rose faces up to three years in prison for witness tampering when he is sentenced on August 13, 2015.  The Honorable Irene Berger presided over the trial.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, assisted by Bureau of Prison Investigators.  Assistant United States Attorneys Erik  S. Goes and Timothy Boggess were responsible for the prosecution.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Terrance Wilson, 26, of Detroit, Michigan was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in February of 2015 to interstate travel in aid of drug trafficking.  Wilson admitted that he transported heroin from Detroit to Charleston multiple times in November and December of 2014, with the intent to carry out an ongoing business enterprise involving the distribution of heroin in the Charleston area.

On four occasions between December 1 and December 4, 2014, Wilson sold heroin to a confidential informant working with the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (“MDENT”).

United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over this case. The case was investigated by MDENT.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill and heroin trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Robert J. Smith, 36, of Charleston, West Virginia was sentenced in federal court in Charleston for aiding and abetting a robbery affecting interstate commerce.  On April 22, 2012, Smith, Robert Barcliff, Keith Glenn, and William Seltzer carried out an armed, home-invasion robbery in Marmet, West Virginia, of drug dealers they believed to be from Detroit, Michigan, and who they expected to have drugs and cash from the illegal drug sales. Barcliff and Smith dressed in dark clothing and stormed the apartment at gunpoint.  They stole drug proceeds from the apartment and then fled from the scene.  During the robbery, a firearm was discharged inside the apartment.

Smith was sentenced to 70 months in prison for the armed robbery, and upon completion of that sentence, to serve an additional 37 months for violation of a period of supervised release. Smith was on supervised release at the time of the home invasion for a previous drug conviction.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Charleston Police Department, and Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is in charge of the prosecution.

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Boyd Wendell Clark, age 31, of Daniels, West Virginia, was sentenced in federal court in Beckley to nine years of imprisonment, followed by a 5-year term of supervised release.  Clark previously pled guilty in January of 2015, to distributing oxycodone to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities.  The drug deal took place on Pine Grove Circle in Daniels, West Virginia.  Clark was sentenced under the federal “career offender” guideline, which provides for enhanced sentencing based upon the defendant’s criminal history. This case was investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and is being prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative directed by the United States Attorney’s Office.    

This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Irene C. Berger.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Detroit man who participated in a conspiracy that funneled multiple kilos of heroin into the Huntington area between 2012 and 2014 was sentenced yesterday to more than eight years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin.   Kenneth D. Bowden, 29, previously pleaded guilty in February 2015 to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.

Bowden admitted that between 2013 and  April 2014, he conspired with other individuals to distribute heroin in the Huntington, West Virginia area.  During the  conspiracy, shipments of heroin were frequently made from Michigan to Huntington.  Bowden and his associates used multiple residences in Huntington as locations from which they prepared, stored and distributed heroin.

On April 8, 2014, officers executed a search warrant at an apartment in the 900 block of 6th Street in Huntington.  Bowden was staying in the apartment at the time of the search warrant.  When they entered the apartment, officers observed Bowden and a second individual exiting through the rear bedroom. During the search, officers found a bag containing 113.7 grams of heroin. The Huntington Police Department Forensic Investigations Unit located a usable print on the bag, and connected the drugs to Bowden through his right thumb print.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Lesage man who helped distribute oxycodone pills from his trucking business to an undercover federal agent in 2013 was sentenced today to 58 months in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Kenneth Ray Cisco, 50, previously pleaded guilty in February of 2015 to aiding and abetting the distribution of oxycodone.

Cisco, owner of now defunct Cisco Trucking, admitted that he exchanged oxycodone pills for tractor-trailer tires. On March 14, 2013, an undercover federal agent traveled to Cisco Trucking in Huntington, West Virginia, to meet with Cisco for the purposes of conducting a pre-arranged oxycodone sale.  Cisco directed another individual to distribute 33 oxycodone pills to the undercover agent in exchange for six tires.  Cisco also admitted that he made additional oxycodone sales with the undercover agent and others in exchange for tires, motor oil, and cash.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the Huntington Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A London, West Virginia woman who received a package of oxycodone from New York through the U.S. mail, was sentenced today to five years of probation, with the first six months to be served in home confinement, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Whitney Reanne Kent, 26, previously pleaded guilty in February of 2015, to possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.

On December 5, 2012, the United States Postal Inspection Service and a member of the Metro Drug Enforcement Network Taskforce (MDENT) were conducting interdiction efforts at the Charleston Post Office to curb drug trafficking through the U.S. Mail.  They intercepted a package addressed to Kent.  Upon executing a federal search warrant on the package, investigators seized  approximately 89 30mg oxycodone pills.  On December 7, 2012, when Kent arrived at the Post Office to retrieve the package, investigators confronted her about the pills.  She admitted she knew the pills were in the package and that she was there to pick them up for someone else.  United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston handed down the sentence.

The Metro Drug Enforcement Network Team and the United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks handled the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -  A 55-year old Cabell County man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty today to failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced.  Daniel Walter Varnes, of Huntington, West Virginia, entered a guilty plea before Chief District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers.

Varnes was convicted in 2000 in Colorado of Sexual Assault of a Child Under Age 15 by a Person in a Position of Trust.  As a result of that conviction, Varnes was required to register as a sex offender.  In August of 2014, Varnes moved to Huntington, West Virginia, and did not register as a sex offender despite knowing it was required by law.   He continued to reside and work in Huntington without registering until his arrest on February 6, 2015.

The court scheduled sentencing for Varnes for August 10, 2015, in Huntington, West Virginia.

The United States Marshals Service and the West Virginia State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being brought as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s ongoing initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse in the Southern District of West Virginia.

Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Troy Lawrence, 45, of Charleston, West Virginia, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft.  In July of 2014, Lawrence pleaded guilty to aggravated identify theft admitting that he used a dead person’s name and driver’s license to purchase pseudoephedrine from a Rite Aid store in Charleston.  Sellers of pseudoephedrine, like Rite Aid, are required by federal law to keep a logbook that identifies individuals who purchase pseudoephedrine.  This logbook helps law enforcement identify people who purchase pseudoephedrine to manufacture methamphetamine.  “Making and distributing methamphetamine is dangerous business,” said U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  “When buyers of pseudoephedrine lie about who they are, they obstruct law enforcement efforts to stop the spread of methamphetamine at the source.  We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that buyers and sellers of pseudoephedrine comply with laws intended to protect us from the unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine.”   

This case was investigated by the West Virginia State Police and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

Former A+ Care Pharmacy head agrees to forfeit $2.3 million, plus Lexus and Barboursville home

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Kofi Ohene Agyekum, 37, the former owner and operator of A+ Care Pharmacy in Barboursville, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to violating federal banking laws aimed at identifying criminal activity, including drug crime and terrorism.  Federal laws, including the Patriot Act, require financial institutions to report cash transactions of more than $10,000 to federal authorities.  Structuring, or dividing cash transactions into amounts less than $10,000, is a common technique used by criminals to avoid triggering the reporting requirement and detection of the underlying crimes.

At his plea hearing, Agyekum admitted that he deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash that he derived from his operation of A+ Care Pharmacy.  To avoid the federal reporting requirement, Agyekum admitted that he structured each deposit in an amount less than $10,000 and made the deposits to multiple bank accounts in various area banks, including Huntington National Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Chase Bank and First Sentry Bank.

As part of his plea agreement, Agyekum will forfeit to the United States more than $2.3 million, plus a Lexus and his home in Barboursville. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on August 3, 2015.

Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers conducted today’s plea hearing.

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is responsible for the prosecution.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Terrell Montaie, 31, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence

Montaie previously pleaded guilty in January 2015, admitting that in March 2014, he sold heroin to a confidential informant working with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department. The sale occurred at a residence on Kay Lane in Charleston. Montaie admitted that he had been selling heroin in the Charleston area for a four-month period prior to the March 2014 controlled buy.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of heroin and prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal heroin and pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Detroit man who participated in a heroin distribution conspiracy in 2013 was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced.  Bryant Donavan Taylor, 36, pleaded guilty in February 2015 to aiding and abetting the possession of 100 grams or more of heroin with the intent to distribute. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed today’s sentence.

On August 21, 2013, agents with the Huntington Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at a residence in the 200 block of 8th Ave. in Huntington.  The residence was rented by another man and used by Taylor and others to distribute heroin.  During the search, Taylor and two other men were present, and agents seized 134.8 grams of heroin along with various items of drug paraphernalia.

Taylor admitted that he jointly possessed the heroin with a partner for distribution in and around the Huntington area.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Daniel Lupson, 58, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to possession of methamphetamine for distribution, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Lupson admitted to possessing methamphetamine that was found in his vehicle during a traffic stop by agents of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team. Lupson said he intended to sell some of the methamphetamine and use some of it himself.

Lupson faces a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine when he is sentenced August 18, 2015.

United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., conducted the plea hearing.

Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Jon Paul Clements, 33, of Charleston, West Virginia, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for selling heroin.  Clements pled guilty in October of 2014 to four counts of distributing heroin in the Charleston area.

At his guilty plea hearing, Clements admitted that he repeatedly sold heroin to a confidential informant working with law enforcement at various times and locations in July and August of 2014.  Clements was sentenced as a career offender based on his criminal history that included prior convictions for robbery, unlawful wounding, and possession with intent to deliver marijuana. 

“We’re fighting back hard against the spread of heroin in West Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney Goodwin. “Honest citizens shouldn’t have to worry about career criminals selling drugs in their communities. Now this defendant will have a long time in federal prison to think about the families and neighborhoods he damaged.”

The case was investigated by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team.  Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman was in charge of the prosecution.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Parkersburg man who had cocaine, heroin, and cash pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney, Booth Goodwin.  Dustin Keith Jarvis, 34 pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine today before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. in Charleston.

On April 23, 2014, drug task force officers executed search warrants at Jarvis’ apartment and his rented storage unit in Mineral Wells, West Virginia.  Among other items, police seized approximately 120 grams of cocaine, 380 grams of heroin and more than $12,000 in cash.  This case is part of a larger cooperative investigation by drug task forces in Wood County, West Virginia and Washington County, Ohio.

Other individuals prosecuted in federal court as part of this investigation include Brent J. Sidwell who pleaded guilty on April 24, 2015, to conspiracy to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana,  Timothy Fields who was sentenced to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and David Naylor who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Jarvis faces up to 20 years in prison, and a $1 million fine when sentenced on August 11, 2015.

This case represents the ongoing cooperation between the Parkersburg Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, Washington County, Ohio Major Crimes Task Force, and the Internal Revenue Service.  Assistant United States Attorney, Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A former Detroit man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Tony Searcy, 48, pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute it.  Searcy admitted that on September 26, 2014, he traveled from Detroit, Michigan to Huntington, West Virginia, with approximately 100 grams of heroin that he planned to sell in the Huntington area.

Searcy faces up to twenty years of imprisonment when he is sentenced on August 10, 2015.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg McVey and Jennifer Rada Herrald are in charge of the prosecution.

This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that a convicted felon originally from Detroit, Michigan pleaded guilty today in federal court in Huntington to unlawfully possessing a firearm.  Joseph Lovell Cook, 22, entered a guilty plea to possessing an SKS semi-automatic assault rifle on July 3, 2014, in Barboursville, West Virginia.  Cook was prohibited from possessing the firearm because of a 2010 assault with a dangerous weapon conviction in Michigan and a 2012 drug trafficking conviction in Cabell County, West Virginia.

Cook faces up to ten years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 10, 2015.

The FBI Drug Task Force and the DEA Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg McVey and Jennifer Rada Herrald are in charge of the prosecution.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.   

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – An Atlanta man who possessed cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine, and a loaded gun in 2014 pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Reginald Wendell Weems, 33, entered a guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.

On September 15, 2014, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force were notified that Weems was in the 1400 block of 15th Street in Huntington with crack.  Agents subsequently conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Weems was a passenger.  Agents searched the vehicle and recovered over 35 grams of crack and a loaded 9mm pistol.  Weems admitted to possessing the crack and the pistol.  Weems also admitted to selling crack in the Huntington area.

Weems faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 3, 2015.

The DEA Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Belpre, Ohio man is the latest member of a large-scale marijuana trafficking organization to plead guilty in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Brent J. Sidwell, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston to his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.

At today’s plea hearing, Sidwell admitted that he and others operated a drug trafficking organization in and around Wood County, West Virginia and Washington County, Ohio.  In the fall of 2013, members of the Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force (PNTF) and the Washington County Major Crimes Task Force (WCMCTF) began working with a confidential informant who began purchasing marijuana and cocaine from Sidwell and other members of the organization.  The drug deals took place primarily at the former 5th Street Pub in Parkersburg, but also occurred at numerous locations in Wood and Washington Counties.  Eventually, police obtained a wiretap on Sidwell’s phone and executed search warrants at various locations.

Sidwell admitted that he provided marijuana on consignment and recruited others to deliver marijuana and pick up money for the fronted marijuana from previous deals.  Evidence given at earlier court proceedings revealed that Sidwell and others, at his direction, would pick up large marijuana shipments delivered by U.S. Mail to various locations within Wood and Washington Counties.  Sidwell would then direct members of the organization to package the marijuana in smaller multi-pound quantities and deliver it to street-level distributors and collect the proceeds of drug sales.  The money would then be delivered to Sidwell’s suppliers, either by bulk cash delivery, wire transfer, or by depositing the money into a local branch of a national bank to be withdrawn at a different location by the supplier.

Timothy Fields, 38, of Vienna previously pleaded guilty in federal court and admitted distributing more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana and smaller quantities of cocaine.  He was sentenced in January 2015 to six years in federal prison.  David A. Naylor also pleaded guilty in federal court and admitted distributing more than 700 kilograms of marijuana.  He is scheduled for sentencing on July 30, 2015.

Sidwell faces at least five and up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on July 7, 2015.

This case represents the ongoing  cooperation between the PNTF, WCMCTF, the Wood County, WV Prosecuting Attorney, the Washington County, OH Prosecuting Attorney and the Internal Revenue Service.  Assistant United States Attorney, Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Sissonville, West Virginia man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Jamie Ray Green, 32, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston to using a phone to facilitate drug trafficking.  Green admitted that on February 10, 2015, he received a phone call from a confidential informant (CI) who wanted to buy methamphetamine from him. During the call, Green instructed the CI to meet him near the Crossings Mall in Elkview, W.Va. After the call, Green travelled to the arranged spot, and sold methamphetamine to the CI.

Green faces up to four years of imprisonment when he is sentenced on July 7, 2015.

The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is in charge of the prosecution.

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Dshawn Dozier, 34, and Michael Hodge, 36, both of Beckley, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today in federal court to distributing cocaine base, commonly known as crack cocaine.  Dozier and Hodge both admitted that they sold crack in the fall of 2014 to individuals who were cooperating with law enforcement authorities. Both drug deals took place on Rice Street in Beckley.

Dozier and Hodge face up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  United States District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled the sentencing for August 13, 2015.

The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigations.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Scott Ellis, 45, of Holden, West Virginia, was sentenced today by Judge Thomas Johnston to three years of probation and a $3,000 fine announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Ellis had previously pleaded guilty in July of 2014 to structuring, a federal crime that involves the breaking down of cash banking transactions in amounts of $10,000 or less to avoid triggering a financial institution’s reporting requirements to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Ellis also admitted that he and his business partner, Stephen Herndon, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to the general manager of Arch Coal’s Mountain Laurel mining complex, located in Logan County.

Ellis admitted that he owned Tri-State Mine Service, Inc., a vendor at Mountain Laurel that rebuilt mining equipment.  Ellis gave Herndon a half interest in Tri-State in approximately March 2011, after Herndon left his position at Mountain Laurel as the warehouse manager. To ensure that Tri-State received the rebuild work from Mountain Laurel, Ellis, later joined by Herndon, engaged in a bid-rigging scheme where, in exchange for a guaranteed winning bid on certain jobs, vendors had to pay cash kickbacks to a person identified in other court documents as David Runyon.

Ellis initially delivered the cash to Herndon, while he worked at Mountain Laurel, or Runyon. While Herndon was the warehouse manager at Mountain Laurel, from approximately 2006 through March 2011, he served as a facilitator of kickback payments by vendors at Mountain Laurel to Runyon.

To generate the necessary cash, Ellis, later joined by Herndon, structured cash withdrawals from various personal and business accounts in amounts of $10,000 or less. They conducted the cash withdrawals in that manner to avoid triggering the bank's obligation to file a currency transaction report with the Internal Revenue Service.

Between early 2009 and approximately March 2011, Ellis structured approximately $163,521.25 in cash transactions. Ellis estimates that almost all of those funds were used to pay cash kickbacks to Runyon, and that he paid approximately $187,000 in cash kickbacks during that time. Between April 1, 2011, and September 30, 2013, Herndon and Ellis, working together, structured approximately $183,853. They estimate that they used almost all of those funds to pay cash kickbacks to Runyon and that they paid approximately $237,000 in cash kickbacks during that period.

Ellis has agreed to forfeit $215,355.85 to the United States, representing a portion of the funds involved in and traceable to structuring.

Today’s sentencing stems from an investigation being conducted by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Meredith George Thomas is in charge of the prosecution.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Chapmanville, W.Va. man admitted to selling the powerful prescription painkiller oxymorphone, commonly known as Opana. Joseph Allen Rogers, 41, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Charleston to distribution of oxymorphone, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.

Rogers admitted that he sold Opana to a confidential informant on three separate occasions on April 14, 15, and 16, 2014. Officers with the U.S. 119 Task Force also executed a search warrant on Rogers’ residence and located additional oxymorphone, oxycodone, cash, and a firearm.

Rogers faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on August 10, 2015 by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. 119 Task Force and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is handling the prosecution.

The prosecution is part of an ongoing effort by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Beckley was placed on probation for three years for his conviction for selling heroin.  Mario Walton, age 28, of previously pled guilty in January of 2015, to selling heroin to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities.  The drug deal took place on Airport Road in Beaver, Raleigh County, West Virginia.

This case was investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and is being prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative directed by the United States Attorney’s Office.    

This case is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.