Christopher Howard, a 32-year-old from Morgantown, West Virginia, is going down for 41 months behind bars after admitting his role in a drug distribution ring that flooded Monongalia County with heroin, oxycodone, and cocaine. The sentence, handed down today in federal court, marks the end of a targeted investigation into Howard’s use of communication tools to push deadly narcotics.
Howard pled guilty in January 2019 to one count of “Unlawful Use of Communication Facility,” a charge that cut straight to the heart of his criminal operation. He admitted to using a mobile phone to coordinate the sale and distribution of controlled substances during April 2018 — a month that investigators say cemented his place in a broader network of drug activity in North Central West Virginia.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley, who pushed for accountability in a region ravaged by opioid and stimulant abuse. Her office emphasized that each text, each call Howard made wasn’t just a transaction — it was a potential overdose waiting to happen in a community already on its knees.
Federal and local agencies teamed up to bring Howard down. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force — a HIDTA-funded initiative — conducted the investigation. Their collaboration was fueled in part by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF), which targets high-level drug operations through coordinated, multi-agency action.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided over the sentencing, imposing the 41-month term without parole. There were no excuses, no last-minute deals — just a cold accounting of Howard’s choices and their consequences. The courtroom was quiet, but the message was loud: West Virginia won’t look away while drugs bleed its towns dry.
Howard’s conviction is one piece of a larger puzzle. Authorities stress that operations like this, backed by federal funding and local intelligence, are critical to dismantling the pipelines feeding addiction. For now, Christopher Howard trades street corners for a cell — a small victory in a war that’s far from over.
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Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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