William S. Thompson U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia
Emariel Kanay Tyler, a 20-year-old resident of Akron, Ohio, has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. The sentence will be followed by one year of supervised release.
Court documents reveal that on March 29, 2023, Tyler traveled via rideshare from Charleston to Wyoming County with methamphetamine and fentanyl. She admitted to using her cell phone to arrange the sale of fentanyl at a residence in Wyoming County, discussing the meeting location and prices. Despite arranging the transaction, Tyler returned to Charleston with both the money and the fentanyl.
Upon returning, Tyler was dropped off at an apartment in Charleston where law enforcement officers were executing a search warrant. Her boyfriend, Terric Zaire Williams, was present at the apartment during the search. Officers noticed a firearm outline in Tyler's pants along with cash and suspected drugs visible from her jacket pockets leading to her arrest.
During the search of the apartment, officers seized three-quarters of a pound of methamphetamine from different locations within the premises. Williams, aged 25 and also from Akron, Ohio, had been sentenced earlier on February 27, 2025. He received six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston who praised the efforts of the Charleston Police Department in this case. The sentence was imposed by Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr., while Assistant United States Attorney Lesley C. Shamblin prosecuted.
Further information can be accessed through court documents available on PACER under Case No. 2:24-cr-186 or through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia's website.
