CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A woman from Chesapeake was sentenced to 8 months in prison, followed by 9 to 12 months of in-patient drug treatment, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Ashley Nichole Rhodes, 24, previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Stuart commended the investigation conducted by the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“We’re tough on drug dealers. But we also understand that incarceration presents a critical opportunity for people with substance use disorder to get treatment," said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Rhodes will get much drug treatment while serving her federal prison sentence and continue in-patient treatment upon her release."
As established by public court filings and hearings, on Aug. 16, 2018, a man reported to Kanawha County deputies that his house in Rand, West Virginia, had been burglarized. The burglars stole firearms, digital cameras, vehicle titles, $1,000 in savings bonds, and various other personal items.
Later that day, a Kanawha County deputy found some of the stolen items in a backpack outside of an empty, abandoned house on Church Drive, less than two blocks from the victim’s house. The deputy entered another dilapidated, abandoned house nearby, which was open. After announcing his presence, the deputy found Mason Laviro Scragg lying on a mattress. A stolen 12 gauge shotgun was protruding from under the mattress directly beneath Scragg. Many other stolen items were strewn throughout the house, including more stolen firearms on top of the exposed ceiling rafters.
The deputy also found Rhodes hiding in a bedroom closet. Rhodes was carrying close to five grams of methamphetamine in her purse at the time.
Scragg was previously sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for possessing the stolen firearms. Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentences. The cases against Scragg and Rhodes were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
