David Allen Young Sentenced in Meth-Fueled Carjacking Spree

David Allen Young, 24, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for a violent crime spree fueled by methamphetamine distribution. Young pleaded guilty to two counts of carjacking and one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Each count carried a 10-year sentence, to be served concurrently, handed down by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

The crime wave unfolded between summer 2014 and January 2016, when Young admitted to moving at least 40 pounds of crystal meth through Kanawha County as part of a sprawling drug network. The drug operation fed a cycle of violence that exploded on January 24, 2016. That day, Young stole a Ford Expedition in Putnam County, then fired a shot at an occupied vehicle in St. Albans—just the beginning of a daylight rampage.

Later that afternoon, Young walked up to a Ford Edge SUV parked near Big Tyler Road and Waycross Drive in Cross Lanes. Brandishing a 9 mm handgun, he ordered the driver out at gunpoint. The man complied. Young then sped off in the stolen SUV until he confronted a second vehicle—a Chevrolet S-10 truck occupied by a man and his juvenile son. Again, Young pointed the same handgun, forced them out, and hijacked the truck.

Young drove the stolen S-10 to Dalewood Trailer Park, where he shot through the glass door of a residence, shattered it, and stole a television—intending to trade it for more drugs. The brazen series of crimes ended two days later when law enforcement arrested Young on January 26, 2016. Evidence tied him directly to the weapons, vehicles, and drug network.

The FBI and Charleston Police Department’s Special Enforcement Unit led the investigation into the meth conspiracy, while the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department spearheaded the carjacking probes. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn prosecuted the case, underscoring the federal crackdown on violent drug-related offenses in the Southern District of West Virginia.

This case was prosecuted under the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s ongoing initiative to dismantle illegal drug operations and curb gun violence. It was also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national strategy to reduce firearm crimes through coordinated federal, state, and local enforcement. Young’s sentencing marks a hard win in a region ravaged by meth and street violence.

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