A Parkersburg man, Anthony Michael Mowery, 48, has been sentenced to nine years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for his involvement in a methamphetamine trafficking organization in Charleston, West Virginia, and violating supervised release.
Court documents reveal that Mowery, along with others, was part of a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) that operated from January 2024 to May 2024, distributing methamphetamine in the Charleston region. Mowery's role included arranging meetings where large quantities of the drug were exchanged for further distribution.
On May 5, 2024, Mowery organized for his co-conspirator, Michael Dale Cain, to pick up about 3 pounds of methamphetamine in Charleston. Cain was supposed to transport it to Parkersburg for distribution. However, law enforcement intercepted Cain, discovering the drugs in his vehicle and arresting him.
Due to his extensive criminal history, including convictions for assault and battery, Mowery was already under supervised release for a 2018 conviction on firearm possession charges when he committed the current offense. Consequently, his sentence includes two years to be served concurrently for violating supervised release.
Mowery was one of four people indicted in the DTO conspiracy. All pleaded guilty. Cain, 49, received an eight-year and one-month prison sentence in January 2025. Another co-conspirator, Kirt Ray King, 48, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in June 2025, as will John Wayne Harkless, 46, who has also admitted guilt.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a key element of the Department's strategy against major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston commended the FBI’s investigative efforts. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin handed down the sentences, with Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuting the case.
