Christopher Anthony O’Dell, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2024

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – In a major blow to methamphetamine trafficking in the Southern District of West Virginia, Christopher Anthony O’Dell, 39, of Hurricane, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

O’Dell admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Southern District of West Virginia. The DTO participants used a St. Albans residence to store and distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, O’Dell participated in the DTO from approximately November 2022 through November 2023. O’Dell admitted that he sold approximately 1.1 grams of fentanyl and 3.5 grams of methamphetamine for $200 to a confidential informant on August 18, 2023.

O’Dell further admitted that the transaction took place at his Hurricane residence, and that he arranged it beforehand with the confidential informant by text message. On August 28, 2023, a law enforcement officer conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by O’Dell in St. Albans. The officer seized approximately 51 grams of fentanyl and two muzzleloading pistols from the vehicle during the traffic stop.

O’Dell admitted that co-defendant Jashawn William Lawson was a passenger in his vehicle during the traffic stop and that he was aware that Lawson was in possession of fentanyl that Lawson was transporting to St. Albans to distribute. O’Dell further admitted to possessing the seized firearms.

O’Dell and Lawson are among 27 individuals indicted in a 53-count indictment that charges the defendants with distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl transported from Detroit, Michigan, in Huntington and other locations within the Southern District of West Virginia.

United States Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.