Drug investigation leads to 19 warrants, 12 arrests on Thursday
May 14—The Beckley-Raleigh County Drug and Violent Task Force arrested 12 people on drug charges Thursday, following a month-long investigation into the growing fentanyl crisis in Raleigh County, Raleigh Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield announced.
All suspects were arrested on charges of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl or delivery of a controlled substance.
Hatfield said fentanyl is "public enemy number one" among illegal drug activity in the county, leading to an estimated 20 to 30 overdose deaths per month.
"We've got to put a stop to this because it's destroying our communities," he said. "That's people's sons, people's daughters, husbands, wives and mothers — a little bit of everybody to someone, so it's putting a strain on the family.
"It's putting a strain on the foster system. It's putting a strain on law enforcement," Hatfield said, "so when we look at an operation like this, it's started addressing a problem."
Raleigh Sheriff Scott Van Meter said the investigation had resulted in warrants being issued for 19 people. Police arrested the 12 on Thursday and are searching for the remaining seven.
Van Meter said police seized 48 grams of fentanyl during the arrests on Thursday, along with 12 grams of heroine, 20 grams of methamphetamines, four guns and $7,000 in cash.
"Fentanyl's been a problem," said Hatfield. "I would date it back the last two to four years, specifically."
Fentanyl is an opioid that is similar to morphine though more potent. Medical grade fentanyl is used as an oncology drug. On the street, Hatfield explained, fentanyl is in powder form. Dealers mix it with heroin to increase their inventory.
Hatfield said fentanyl is 25 to 50 times more potent than heroine and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
"When we talk about fentanyl, we're talking about the worst of the worst," Hatfield said. Two to three milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal to an adult, the county prosecutor said.
Hatfield said some users are unknowingly exposing themselves to greater risks.
"People who suffer from the affliction of drug use disorder are injecting heroine that is too potent for them, and they're dying," Hatfield said. "They're dying of overdoses because they don't know what they're putting inside themselves.
"I'd characterize it as Russian roulette by drugs."
The prosecutor thanked Beckley-Raleigh County Drug and Violent Task Force, which is made up of the Raleigh Sheriff's Office, Beckley Police Department, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources police, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and United States Marshals.
Hatfield said the suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that they will each have a preliminary hearing within 10 days if they're still incarcerated.
Those who post bond will have a preliminary hearing within 20 days.
Hatfield and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thompson will prosecute the cases.
"The next step is to prosecute these cases pretty quickly so they don't linger, and we can process the offenders in the legal system as quickly as possible," he said.
He said that state lawmakers have passed a new fentanyl trafficking statute (WV Code 60A-4-415) that enhances penalties for those who possess fentanyl with an intent to deliver and those who deliver fentanyl. Under the new code, a gram is punishable by two to 10 years in prison, one to five grams is punishable by three to 15 years in prison, and those found guilty for possessing more than five grams may spend four to 20 years in prison for each transfer.
"We have a really great tool in this fentanyl statute to help us combat what could look to be the most deadly thing in law enforcement," said Hatfield.
Those charged are Brandon Morris, one count of delivery; Michael Wallace, Linda Lusk, John Blankenship, Jerry Cook and Bobbie Williams, all on two counts of delivery; Stephen Hunt, Matthew Bragg and Brian Nowajewski, all on three counts of delivery, and Carlos Blevis on one count of possession with intent to deliver, Hatfield said.
