Steven Larry Harper, Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, West Virginia 2018

A Buckhannon man has been sentenced to 135 months in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution operation in Upshur County and elsewhere in West Virginia. Steven Larry Harper, also known as ‘Skip,’ pleaded guilty to one count of ‘Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine’ in February 2018.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Harper, age 40, admitted to conspiring with others to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. The crime occurred from March 2016 to September 2017. Harper’s sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey.

The investigation into Harper’s activities was a joint effort involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, the Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department.

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF), which provides critical federal funding and coordination to allow federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. Harper’s guilty plea and subsequent sentencing bring an end to a lengthy investigation and prosecution.

Steven Larry Harper, a 40-year-old resident of Buckhannon, West Virginia, was sentenced to 135 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. The crime occurred from March 2016 to September 2017, and Harper pleaded guilty to one count of ‘Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine’ in February 2018.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, the Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department, with funding provided by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF).