Akron Woman Pleads Guilty to Heroin & Meth Distribution

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A grim chapter in the relentless battle against drug trafficking unfolded as Azriel Irene Westfall, a 20-year-old from Akron, Ohio, pled guilty to federal drug trafficking charges before Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

In a move that echoed Project Charleston’s dedication to dismantling drug rings, Westfall admitted to possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. United States Attorney Mike Stuart called her ‘carrying death and destruction in her purse,’ emphasizing the severity of the crime.

Westfall was apprehended during a February 28, 2018, raid on a Charleston drug house. Authorities discovered nearly 30 grams of a deadly mixture of heroin and carfentanil (a potent fentanyl derivative), almost 10 grams of heroin, and around 3 grams of ice methamphetamine in her possession. Over $6,000 in drug proceeds were also seized.

Stuart commended the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their tireless efforts in bringing down the drug trafficking organization connecting Akron and Charleston. ‘We will continue to hold poison peddlers responsible and put them behind bars for as long as possible,’ Stuart vowed.

The defendant, facing up to 20 years in federal prison, will be sentenced on August 7, 2019. Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman is handling the prosecution of this high-stakes case.

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