Community Bulletin
Foot and ankle pain no longer means a long drive. Vandalia Health Foot & Ankle now treats patients in four central West Virginia towns — Buckhannon, Cowen, Elkins and Philippi — part of the network long known as Davis Health System. Read more →
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A Lewis County traffic stop and hotel room search led to the sentencing of a North Carolina man responsible for distributing a large quantity of fentanyl in West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced.
Shawn Galin Whitley Jr., 35, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to 48 months in prison. A Lewis County sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle occupied by Whitley. He was removed from the car during the stop. Deputies discovered $2,040 in cash and five fentanyl stamps in Whitley’s pocket. Officers then obtained a search warrant for Room 204 of a nearby hotel where he was staying. Inside the room, investigators found a backpack containing approximately 3,750 fentanyl stamps. Hotel security footage showed Whitley wearing the backpack shortly before police arrived.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
