Shaquan Omar Richardson, PCP and Cocaine Conspiracy, West Virginia 2023

A Martinsburg man has admitted to his role in a drug conspiracy that spanned several states, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced. Shaquan Omar Richardson, also known as “Wave,” 24, pled guilty today to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute One Kilogram or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing Phencyclidine (PCP)” and one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute 280 Grams or More of Cocaine Base.”

Richardson admitted to working with others to distribute PCP from August 2019 to September 2019 in Jefferson County and elsewhere. He also admitted to distributing more than 280 grams or more of cocaine base or “crack” in September 2019 in Jefferson County.

Richardson faces at least 10 years and up to life incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000,000 for each count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

This case is the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep.

OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided over the case.

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Shaquan Omar Richardson, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, has admitted to his role in a drug conspiracy that spanned several states.

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