Demetrius Terrell Burns, aged 32 from Beckley, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The sentence comes after his admission to being involved in a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine base in Beckley and other parts of the Southern District of West Virginia.
Court documents detail that in April 2024, Burns acquired fentanyl from a supplier in Beckley to sell to Tilford Joe Bradley Jr., a co-defendant. On April 12, 2024, Burns informed Bradley by phone of receiving a "raw" fentanyl shipment and offered to sell him $1,800 worth. There were discussions about using a cutting agent to increase profits from resale. Burns admitted to knowing Bradley planned to distribute these drugs around the Southern District of West Virginia.
Burns and Bradley are among 12 individuals indicted for conspiring to distribute illicit substances from June 2023 to May 2024. All have pleaded guilty, with two accepting different charges.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, which includes members from the West Virginia State Police, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, and the Beckley Police Department.
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk handed down the sentence while Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted under the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which targets significant drug and money laundering organizations.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia has additional information on its website. Court documents are available on PACER under Case No. 5:24-cr-90.
