Austin Bruce Jeffreys, Gun and Drug Trafficking, West Virginia 2021

Austin Bruce Jeffreys, a 28-year-old man from Chesapeake, Ohio, has pleaded guilty to federal gun and drug crimes in West Virginia.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 14, 2021, Jeffreys spoke by phone with an inmate at the Western Regional Jail. The calls were recorded. The inmate asked Jeffreys to go to a Huntington residence and retrieve a quantity of suboxone that belonged to the inmate, but was in the possession of another person. Jeffreys admitted that he told the inmate he would be carrying a loaded Bersa Thunder .380-caliber Combat pistol while retrieving the drugs.

When Jeffreys and another individual arrived at the Huntington residence, a shootout occurred before Jeffreys could recover the drugs. After the shooting, Jeffreys made another recorded phone call with the inmate and admitted to his role in the shooting. Several days later, Jeffreys was arrested and once again admitted to his role in the shooting and that he knew the drugs he tried to recover were intended for distribution.

Jeffreys pleaded guilty to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2023, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine.

The inmate, Jacob Benjamin Loper, 21, pleaded guilty to attempted possession with intent to distribute suboxone and conspiracy to use a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Loper was sentenced to two years and six months in prison on May 9, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the West Virginia State Police, the Huntington Police Department, and the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Investigations Unit.

Austin Bruce Jeffreys, Defendant: 28-year-old man from Chesapeake, Ohio.

Criminal Charges: Using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

City and State: Huntington, West Virginia.

Exact Date: June 14, 2021.

Sentence or Outcome: Scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2023, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/ohio-man-pleads-guilty-federal-gun-drug-crimes