Source: United States Department of Justice News
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A Thornville, Ohio, man was sentenced to 9 years in prison today for having a large amount of methamphetamine on Wheeling Island.
Christopher W. Thomas, 33, pled guilty to a possession charge in May 2022. During a traffic stop of Thomas’s vehicle, officers found 79 grams of methamphetamine and more than 240 grams of fentanyl, some of which was in the form of counterfeit Xanax pills. Thomas also had other items to manufacture the pills, including a metal pill press with hydraulic jack, cutting agents and a portable mixer. Officers also recovered a loaded 9mm pistol, a box of ammunition, and nearly $5,000 cash.
The Marshall County Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; West Virginia State Police; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Reid prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.