Mark Leslie Lively, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2024

Grimy Times | CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In a major blow to the city’s underworld, a federal jury convicted Mark Leslie Lively, 57, of Kenna, of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

The evidence presented in court revealed that Lively participated in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in the Charleston area from about November 2022 to in or about March 2023. Members of the DTO commonly obtained their controlled substances on consignment, paying their suppliers with proceeds from distributing them to customers.

On February 2, 2023, law enforcement officers intercepted a series of phone calls between Lively and co-conspirator Karl Lamont Funderburk, during which the two discussed money that Lively owed Funderburk and arranged for Lively to obtain a quantity of methamphetamine from Funderburk.

Funderburk and Lively met later that day at an alley near Washington Street West in Charleston, where Funderburk provided approximately 138 grams of methamphetamine to Lively. Funderburk received $900 from Lively, including $400 that Lively owed for a prior drug transaction.

As Lively drove away from the meeting place, a law enforcement officer conducted a traffic stop of Lively’s vehicle and requested the assistance of a police K-9 unit. The police K-9 alerted to the presence of controlled substances in the vehicle. The officer searched Lively’s vehicle and seized the methamphetamine hidden underneath the dashboard.

Lively faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release, and a $10 million fine. Lively is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4, 2024.

This conviction is the 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.

Mark Leslie Lively, 57, of Kenna, is among 32 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors. Lively and his co-conspirators have been involved in a significant trafficking operation, and their guilty verdict is a major victory for law enforcement.