HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — In a brazen 2016 deal that fueled the city’s opioid crisis, Jamal Marsalas Glass, a 20-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, sold both heroin and a weaponized 9mm pistol to a confidential informant in a public housing unit — and today he admitted it in federal court.
Glass pleaded guilty to distributing heroin and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, charges that carry a combined sentence of up to 25 years behind bars. U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart announced the plea, underscoring the federal crackdown on out-of-state dealers who bring both drugs and violence into West Virginia’s hardest-hit neighborhoods.
The transaction went down on August 25, 2016, inside an apartment at the Marcum Terrace housing projects. Glass sold approximately 3 grams of heroin and a 9mm pistol with its serial number deliberately scratched off — a federal felony. He also admitted to carrying a separate .38 caliber revolver during the exchange, further escalating the danger.
“The only thing my Office is more committed to than prosecuting dangerous out-of-state drug dealers is prosecuting drug dealers that carry guns. We are aggressively prosecuting gun toting drug dealers,” said U.S. Attorney Stuart, whose office partnered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to close the case.
Glass now faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the drug charge, plus a mandatory minimum of 5 years — to be served consecutively — for the firearm offense. Sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph F. Adams is handling the prosecution.
This case is part of two larger federal initiatives: the Southern District of West Virginia’s campaign against heroin and prescription pill trafficking, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide push to dismantle gun violence through coordinated law enforcement action. The DOJ continues to target the deadly intersection of drug dealing and illegal firearms in communities like Huntington.
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Related Federal Cases
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Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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