CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Columbus drug dealer was sentenced today to five years in federal prison for a heroin crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Christopher E. Butts, 42, previously pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin.
Butts admitted that on May 24, 2016, he sold heroin to a confidential informant working with the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team. The drug deal took place at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Randolph Street in Charleston. Butts further admitted that he sold drugs to a confidential informant again the next day. On May 26, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the residence where Butts was staying. During the search, officers seized over six grams of heroin from Butts that was in his pocket, a firearm located near his feet, and cash from the residence. Officers additionally located approximately 75 grams of heroin behind the couch in the residence. All of the heroin recovered in the search was field tested by law enforcement and came up positive for the presence of fentanyl, which is anywhere from 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is responsible for the prosecution. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence.
This case is 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 prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
