Latesha Lashae Nappier, Methamphetamine Distribution, West Virginia 2023

Latesha Lashae Nappier, 30, Sentenced to Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking

A Charleston woman has been sentenced to prison for her role in a methamphetamine trafficking organization. Latesha Lashae Nappier, 30, of Charleston, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Nappier admitted to conspiring with others to distribute quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl between November 2022 and March 22, 2023. According to court documents, Nappier lived with one of her co-defendants in Charleston during that time. She would sell controlled substances to individuals while her co-defendant was at work and collect payments from the sales. Nappier would later give the money to her co-defendant.

On January 30, 2023, Nappier’s co-defendant directed her to sell methamphetamine to a female customer. Nappier admitted to selling approximately 10.5 grams of methamphetamine to the customer at her residence in exchange for $160.

Nappier is among 32 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a major drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. Law enforcement seized well over 400 pounds of methamphetamine, as well as 40 pounds of cocaine, 3 pounds of fentanyl, 19 firearms, and $935,000 in cash.

Nappier and 21 other defendants have pleaded guilty. Indictments against the other defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

United States Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug program, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office.

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