CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Timothy Edwin Payne Jr., 41, of Belpre, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 4, 2022, Payne arranged for a package containing approximately 1 kilogram of a fentanyl analogue to be shipped through the United States Mail from California to an apartment in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Payne paid the apartment’s resident more than $1,000 to receive and hold the package for Payne.
Law enforcement officers intercepted the package before it arrived at the apartment, and replaced the fentanyl with a sham substance and a tracking device before the package was delivered to the apartment. Payne went to the apartment when the package arrived there on April 8, 2022. When Payne opened the package, law enforcement officers knocked on the apartment door. Payne attempted to flee but was arrested.
Payne is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2023, and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison, 10 years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $20 million fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force, and the Parkersburg Police Department.
Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremy B. Wolfe and Andrew D. Isabell are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-108.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
