Jamario Dobbs Gets 2 Years 9 Months for Heroin Sales

Jamario Dobbs, 36, of Dunbar, is headed to federal prison for peddling poison on the streets of Charleston. The heroin dealer was sentenced to two years and nine months behind bars after pleading guilty to distribution of the deadly drug, according to U.S. Attorney Carol Casto.

Dobbs admitted to selling heroin on three separate occasions in February and March 2016 to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The deals were part of a targeted sting by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, aimed at dismantling open-air drug operations in Kanawha County.

The noose tightened on April 27, 2016, when federal and local agents executed a search warrant at the residence where Dobbs was staying. Inside, they found a loaded handgun, over $7,000 in cash, and approximately 48 grams of crack cocaine—clear signs of a full-scale drug enterprise.

Dobbs was arrested moments before the search. He told officers he had swallowed several bags of heroin to hide evidence. Authorities rushed him to a hospital, where medical staff recovered more than two grams of the drug from his system—proof he was willing to risk his life to protect his criminal operation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica D. Coleman prosecuted the case with zero leniency. U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston handed down the 33-month sentence as part of a broader crackdown on opioid trafficking in the Southern District of West Virginia.

This case is one thread in an aggressive federal push to dismantle drug networks fueling the addiction crisis. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, working alongside federal, state, and local agencies, continues to target illegal pill mills, shut down street-level dealers, and stop the flood of heroin into communities already on their knees.