CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Daniel Payne, of Morgantown, West Virginia, has admitted to his involvement in a heroin, oxycodone, and cocaine distribution operation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Payne, age 31, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Heroin." Payne admitted to selling heroin in July 2017 in Monongalia County.
Payne faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. The United States Marshal Service assisted.
The investigation was funded in part by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
