Beckley Man Sentenced to 11 Years for Fentanyl Trafficking
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Ronald Lavaughn Mason, 46, of Beckley, was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base.
Mason, who admitted to his major role in a drug trafficking organization, was sentenced on April 9, 2024, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Mason participated in the DTO in April and May 2024, working with other individuals to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base in and around Beckley.
As part of his guilty plea, Mason admitted that he supplied other individuals with controlled substances that they would redistribute. He further admitted to delivering the controlled substances to these individuals at times, and at other times having them come to his Beckley residence to pick up the drugs.
On April 9, 2024, Mason sold co-defendant Tilford Joe Bradley Jr. a half-ounce of controlled substances while they were in Mason’s vehicle in Beaver. Mason admitted that law enforcement officers conducting surveillance saw him meet Bradley for the transaction, and that he knew Bradley intended to redistribute the controlled substances.
Mason has a long criminal history that includes two prior drug trafficking convictions, both in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The investigation was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit.
Mason was one of 12 individuals indicted on charges alleging the defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack within the Southern District of West Virginia from in or about June 2023 to in or about May 2024. All 12 have pleaded guilty.
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell prosecuted the case.
Related Federal Cases
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- Darrell Spicer, Heroin Trafficking, West Virginia 2024 · Virginia
- Velarian Sylvester Carter, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2023 · Kansas
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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