Joe Butler, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2021

A Charleston man has been convicted of a federal drug trafficking crime, according to a recent plea deal.

Joe Butler, 32, pleaded guilty to distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine on April 8, 2021 in Charleston.

According to court documents, Butler aided and abetted Rance McNeil in the distribution of methamphetamine to a confidential informant.

Butler faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 11, 2022.

McNeil, who also pleaded guilty, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 17, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a statement announcing the plea deal.

Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing.

Assistant United States Attorney Negar M. Kordestani is prosecuting the case.

A copy of the plea deal can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

The case number is 2:21-cr-00258.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/charleston-man-pleads-guilty-federal-drug-crime-6