Leon Wilson, Jr., Drug Distribution, West Virginia 2015

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - In a move to crack down on the city's illicit drug trade, a local man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in distributing heroin.

Leon Wilson, Jr., 43, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in federal prison for distribution of heroin. The charges stem from an investigation by the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department, which revealed that Wilson sold heroin on three separate occasions to a confidential informant working with law enforcement in May 2015.

The drug deals took place at Wilson's Charleston apartment, where officers later found over $1,000 in cash, including some of the pre-recorded buy money used in one of the drug deals with the confidential informant.

Wilson admitted to selling heroin on multiple occasions, and the evidence collected by law enforcement was used to secure his conviction. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Department's Tactical Operations Patrol Team conducted the investigation, and Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess was in charge of Wilson's prosecution.

United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentence, which is the latest effort by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat illegal drugs in the community.

The investigation and prosecution of Wilson are part of an ongoing effort to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin in the region. The U.S. Attorney's Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and other drugs in communities across the Southern District.

Wilson's sentence serves as a warning to those involved in the city's drug trade that law enforcement is committed to bringing them to justice. The case highlights the importance of community cooperation in combating crime and the need for continued support from local residents in the fight against drugs.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/charleston-dealers-sentenced-federal-prison-drug-crimes