Task forces in the Northern District of West Virginia seize over 62 kilograms of drugs

Nine Northern District of West Virginia drug task forces seized more than 62 kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine over the past year and helped secure lengthy federal prison sentences for multiple traffickers.

News Release
August 27, 2025

Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard is applauding the great work of the drug task forces in the Northern District of West Virginia. The nine drug task forces have seized more than 27 kilograms of fentanyl, 22 kilos of methamphetamine, and 13 kilograms of cocaine over the past year.

The drug task forces in the Northern District of West Virginia include: the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug Task Force, the Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, the Mountain Region Drug Task Force, the Marshall County Drug Task Force, and the Three Rivers Drug Task Force. Eight of the drug task forces are funded by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas initiative (HIDTA).

“Since taking office, President Trump has made it a priority to eliminate drug cartels, reduce violent crime and end illegal immigration. As part of Operation Take Back America, we, in law enforcement, have been tasked with surging all federal and local resources to combat those crimes,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Bernard. “It is a moral imperative that we strive to enhance the quality of life in all communities caught in the crossfire. The results we have seen from the task forces within the NDWV prove those efforts have been effective.”

Bernard announced the task force results in Elkins, West Virginia, where he was highlighting some of the recent cases investigated by the Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force. In one case, Daniela Marie Giancoli, 36, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to 150 months in federal prison for supplying fentanyl to dealers in West Virginia. Her co-defendant, Michael Matthews, 36, also of Baltimore, was sentenced to 100 months in prison. Giancoli and Matthews worked together out of their Baltimore apartment to sell drugs to multiple dealers in Grant County, WV. Nearly 9,000 fentanyl pills, weighing more than two kilograms, were seized during the investigation.

In another case, Wesley Neal Carter, 35, of Moorefield, West Virginia, was sentenced to 240 months in prison for conspiring with others to sell methamphetamine. Carter was supplying large quantities of methamphetamine to dealers in Hardy County, WV. Investigators executed a search warrant on Carter’s home and adjacent property and seized nearly three pounds of crystal methamphetamine.

Those distributing drugs for Carter were also prosecuted, including William Flinn, 46, of Moorefield, West Virginia, who was sentenced to 195 months in prison; Christian Adam Fisher, 40, of Petersburg, West Virginia, who was sentenced to 144 months; Steven Ray Davy, Jr., age 38, who was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison; and Keisha Rae Ogline, 35, of Moorefield, West Virginia, who was sentenced to 168 months. Carter’s supplier, Carl Demetrio Valdez, 37, of Craigsville, Virginia, pled guilty to his role and is awaiting sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government.

Investigative agencies for the cases mentioned include the Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Moorefield Police Department; FBI-Baltimore; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Virginia State Police; the RUSH Task Force (VA); and Homeland Security Investigations-Harrisonburg (VA). The Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force consists of the FBI, West Virginia State Police, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the Hardy County Sheriff’s Office, the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, the Keyser Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

This work is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).