A Canton, Ohio, man pleaded guilty on Aug. 5 to possessing more than 40 grams of fentanyl within 1,000 feet of a playground in Ohio County, West Virginia, according to U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Jaylen Jawaun Lashawn Martin, also known as “Money,” age 29, admitted to one charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl within a protected location. According to statements made in court, Martin was staying at a hotel in the Elm Grove section of Wheeling when he was under investigation for drug trafficking. Officers observed Martin exit a vehicle and enter his hotel room before arresting him and conducting a lawful search of the vehicle. They seized a shopping bag containing nearly 72 grams of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia from the car. The hotel is located within 1,000 feet of Overbrook Playground.
Martin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to eighty years in federal prison if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Reid is prosecuting the case for the government. The investigation was conducted by the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force—a HIDTA-funded initiative—and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality, which poses a grave 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,” U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.