A North Carolina man was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after being found responsible for distributing a large quantity of fentanyl in West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced on Aug. 5.
Shawn Galin Whitley, Jr., 35, of Charlotte, North Carolina, received the sentence following a Lewis County traffic stop and subsequent hotel room search. During the stop, a Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy removed Whitley from his vehicle and discovered $2,040 in cash and five fentanyl stamps in his pocket. Officers then obtained a search warrant for Room 204 at a nearby hotel where Whitley was staying. Inside the room, investigators found a backpack containing approximately 3,750 fentanyl stamps. Hotel security footage showed Whitley wearing the backpack shortly before police arrived.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug Task Force, funded through HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas), led the investigation.
Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality and threat to public safety even in trace amounts.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, described as “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.” Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided over sentencing.