Joseph Daniel Skeens, Methamphetamine Distribution, West Virginia 2023

A local man has taken a guilty plea for distributing methamphetamine in Kanawha County.

Joseph Daniel Skeens, 35, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine in the United States District Court.

The charges come after Skeens sold approximately 2.5 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in exchange for a new Rigid impact wrench that was still in its original packaging on November 17, 2023, according to court documents and statements made in court.

This was not an isolated incident for Skeens. He admitted to at least three additional transactions from October 2, 2023, through November 22, 2023, during which he distributed fentanyl and methamphetamine in exchange for money or items of value such as tools and groceries that were shoplifted at his direction.

These transactions included the sale of 3.46 grams of fentanyl in exchange for $50 on October 2, 2023, the sale of 1.34 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for a Rigid rotary power hammer on November 18, 2023, and approximately 1 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for approximately $100 worth of groceries on November 22, 2023.

Skeens is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.

The investigation was led by the St. Albans Police Department with assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/kanawha-county-man-pleads-guilty-federal-drug-crime-15