CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – Chance Ward, of Buckhannon, and Ramiro Pimentel Jr., of Clarksburg, have admitted to distributing methamphetamine, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Ward, 20, pled guilty to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.” Ward admitted to distributing methamphetamine in March 2018 in Upshur County.

Pimentel, 31, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Methamphetamine.” Pimentel admitted to selling methamphetamine in May 2017 in Harrison County.

Ward and Pimentel each face up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. The United States Marshal Service assisted in the arrests.

The investigation was funded in part by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.