Tag: wheeling
Jaylen Jawaun Lashawn Martin, Fentanyl Possession, West Virginia 2026
⏱ 2 min read Jaylen Jawaun Lashawn Martin, a 29-year-old from Canton, Ohio, has admitted to possessing over 40 grams of fentanyl near a playground in Wheeling, West Virginia. Martin, also known as “Money”, pleaded guilty to one charge of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl within 1,000 feet of a protected location. The incident…
Gage Heckman, Producing and Distributing Child Sex Abuse Material, West Virginia 2026
⏱ 2 min read A 22-year-old Wheeling man, Gage Heckman, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for producing and distributing child sex abuse material online. The case began when the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children flagged suspicious activity on an Instagram account, which triggered a rapid response from the Wheeling…
Darryl C. Durant, Meth Trafficking, West Virginia 2026
⏱ 2 min read Darryl C. Durant, a 44-year-old Dayton, Ohio man, has been sentenced to 7 years in federal prison for selling methamphetamine in Wheeling, West Virginia. Durant, also known as ‘Baby Brah’, sold meth to a confidential informant on Wheeling Island on multiple occasions. His prior drug convictions didn’t help his case, and…
Roland N. Copney, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2024
⏱ 2 min read Roland N. Copney, a 37-year-old Wheeling, West Virginia, man, has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for a methamphetamine offense. The investigation began in March 2024 after reports of shots fired on Wheeling Island led officers to a South Broadway Street residence linked to Copney. A search warrant executed…
Terry Pierce, Wire Fraud, West Virginia 2024
⏱ 2 min read Terry Pierce, a 48-year-old Oklahoma man, has admitted to a wire fraud scheme that targeted the Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED) in Wheeling, West Virginia. The scheme, which occurred in October 2024, involved a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam where an unknown person sent a message to RED using a compromised…
Joshua Carney, Fentanyl Trafficking, West Virginia 2024
⏱ 2 min read Joshua Carney, a 32-year-old from Wheeling, West Virginia, was involved in a large-scale fentanyl trafficking operation that stretched from Cleveland, Ohio, to the Ohio Valley. The operation was discovered in January 2024 after reports of suspicious activity at Carney’s residence on Wetzel Street in Wheeling. An investigation by the Ohio Valley…
Jason Hill, Meth Trafficking, West Virginia 2026
⏱ 2 min read Two dealers are going down for peddling deadly fentanyl and meth near schools in Wheeling, West Virginia. Jason Hill, 42, a Cleveland Ohio native, sold the crap near Wheeling Central Catholic High School and West Virginia Northern Community College. He’s looking at 1-40 years in the slammer. In a separate case,…
Paul Harris, Lawyer Defrauding Clients, West Virginia 2026
⏱ 2 min read Paul Harris, a 62-year-old attorney from Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for defrauding his clients and laundering money. Harris used client funds for personal expenses, including the purchase of his home and paying off his law office loan, without their permission. The scheme, which involved…
Nitesh Ratnakar, Tax Evasion, West Virginia, 2023
⏱ 3 min read Wheeling gastroenterologist Nitesh Ratnakar, 50, learned a hard lesson in Elkins federal court today – nearly $2.5 million in unpaid payroll taxes will get you 41 months in prison. Ratnakar, who also owns a medical equipment manufacturer, systematically stiffed the IRS, pilfering funds he’d already withheld from his employees’ paychecks. From…
Bradley Temple, Unlawful Money Transactions, Wyoming 2023
⏱ 2 min read Bradley Temple, 48, formerly of Wheeling, West Virginia, is facing years in federal prison after copping to ripping off nearly $300,000 in COVID-19 relief money. Temple, now living in Delray Beach, Florida, pled guilty in Wyoming federal court this week to unlawful money transactions. The feds say he systematically siphoned funds…
