Six drug traffickers were sentenced to a combined 37 years in federal prison for selling fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.[1] Kenneth Robert Eversole, 48, of Keyser, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for having more than 400 grams of fentanyl in Mineral County.[1] Brenton Daniel Berens, 38, was sentenced to 60 months and Shannon Lynn Smith, 40, was sentenced to 60 months for selling fentanyl and cocaine in Berkeley County.[1] Berens and Smith, both of Martinsburg, maintained a residence to store and package drugs as a distribution hub, where officers seized nearly one pound of fentanyl.[1] Malachi Brian Maurice Younger, 23, was sentenced to 41 months for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine in Berkeley County, selling in West Virginia and Maryland across state lines.[1] Shawn Douglas Kile, 29, of Keyser, was sentenced to 120 months for distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine after selling a little more than 93 grams in Mineral County.[1]

Officers searching Eversole’s duplex seized 150 pounds of marijuana alongside nearly three pounds of fentanyl, almost two pounds of methamphetamine and a small amount of cocaine.[1] Officers also seized five firearms, cash, body armor and drug paraphernalia with those drugs.[1] Officers searching Younger’s vehicle during a traffic stop seized a quarter pound of marijuana alongside more than half a pound of cocaine and more than 50 grams of fentanyl.[1]

Criminal Division Chief Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the cases for the government.[1] U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.[1] The cases were investigated by agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other Maryland and West Virginia task forces and police departments.[2] The prosecution advances the office’s Four Corners of Public Safety priority of stopping illegal drugs flowing into the Northern District of West Virginia.[1]