Edward Keith Perkins, Attempted Methamphetamine Distribution, West Virginia 2024

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Detroit man pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in West Virginia.

Edward Keith Perkins, 31, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty to attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in a federal court hearing held August 19, 2024, in Charleston, West Virginia.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Perkins shipped a box containing approximately 4.43 kilograms of methamphetamine from California to a Virginia Street address on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, on August 19, 2024.

On August 22, 2024, Perkins drove to the Virginia Street address, where law enforcement approached the vehicle Perkins was driving after a passenger in the vehicle retrieved the package from the porch of the residence and placed it in the vehicle’s trunk. Perkins fled the vehicle when the officers approached but was later apprehended.

Perkins admitted that the package contained approximately 50 grams of fentanyl in addition to the 4.43 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Perkins is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), which is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department, and the South Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys JC MacCallum and Alexander A. Redmon are prosecuting the case.

Related Federal Cases