CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A St. Albans man caught with fentanyl, marijuana, several pistols, and three assault rifles was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. O’Neil Anthony Peart, 37, previously pleaded guilty to possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking offenses.
On December 4, 2015, drug task force officers executed a search warrant at Peart’s Walnut Street apartment in St. Albans. Among other items, police seized eight firearms, including three “AR"-style assault rifles with high-capacity magazines, approximately 21 grams of fentanyl, approximately 7.5 pounds of marijuana, and more than $5,300 in cash. All but two of the firearms were loaded.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the St. Albans Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime. This case was also brought as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of illegal drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
