Charleston’s Theresa Jurae-Lekole Woodson Gets 2 Years for Heroin, Cocaine Sales

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Theresa Jurae-Lekole Woodson, 31, of Charleston, is headed to federal prison for 24 months after admitting she sold heroin and cocaine to an informant in a sting operation that exposed her drug trade in the heart of the city. The sentence, handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., marks the end of a case built on controlled buys and a damning raid that uncovered crack, heroin, and a loaded firearm in her home.

Woodson pled guilty in December 2018, acknowledging her role in distributing heroin, cocaine, and crack during March of that year. The prosecution, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua C. Hanks, detailed how the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) deployed an informant to make two separate purchases of illicit drugs from Woodson in late February and early March. Each transaction was a step deeper into a pattern of street-level trafficking that federal prosecutors called both deliberate and destructive.

The final blow came on March 12, 2018, when MDENT executed a search warrant at Woodson’s residence on Woodward Drive. Inside, agents seized 17 grams of crack cocaine, 27 grams of heroin, and a smaller quantity of powdered cocaine. Also recovered: a firearm, a detail that could have triggered even harsher penalties under federal sentencing guidelines.

U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart didn’t mince words when describing the impact of Woodson’s actions. “Distribution of heroin and cocaine. Selling it for money. Tragic,” Stuart said. “Woodson was peddling multiple illicit drugs in Charleston. As a result of MDENT’s good work, she will now spend some time in federal prison for her criminal activity.”

The case underscores the ongoing struggle against opioid and stimulant abuse in West Virginia, one of the states hardest hit by the national drug crisis. MDENT’s persistent surveillance and use of confidential informants remain central to dismantling small-scale but high-impact drug operations like Woodson’s.

Follow updates from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia on Twitter at @SDWVNews and @USAttyStuart.