Huntington Heroin Dealer Gerald Harris Pleads Guilty

Huntington drug dealer Gerald Harris, 23, stood before a federal judge today and admitted to pushing poison onto the streets of West Virginia. Harris pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of heroin, a crime that’s fueled the opioid firestorm tearing through the Southern District.

The deal went down March 22, 2016, on Rear Monroe Avenue in Huntington—ground zero for the region’s drug crisis. Harris handed off approximately 11.8 grams of heroin to a confidential informant working under the watchful eye of the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. The exchange was cold, calculated, and caught on evidence that left no room for denial.

Now, Harris faces the consequences: up to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing is set for February 14, 2017, before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers, who presided over the plea hearing. No deals, no excuses—just a guilty plea and a date with a cell block.

Assistant United States Attorney Gregory McVey is prosecuting the case, part of a broader crackdown by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. This takedown isn’t isolated—it’s a direct strike in an ongoing war against open-air drug markets and the illegal flow of heroin and prescription opioids.

The DEA Task Force led the investigation, weaving surveillance, informants, and hard evidence into a case that moved fast and hit hard. Federal agencies, alongside state and local partners, are tightening the vise on drug networks that have turned neighborhoods into war zones.

United States Attorney Carol Casto made the announcement today, underscoring a zero-tolerance stance: ‘We’re not looking the other way. Every dealer, every distributor, every link in this chain will be pursued.’ Harris is now one more name on the docket—and one less dealer flooding the streets with death.’