BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man was arrested Sunday for allegedly transferring fentanyl across state lines with the intent to deliver it to another party in May 2022.
Austin S. Tawney, 33, of Buckhannon, was arrested for possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, transporting fentanyl into the state and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, all felonies.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Sgt. Marshall O’Connor with the Buckhannon Police Department, on Friday, May 20, 2022, a traffic stop was initiated on a green Ford Explorer after the Lewis County Communications Center received a call regarding the vehicle driving recklessly.
The 911 call was made by the Chief of Police of the Weston Police Department, who reported the vehicle was slamming on its brakes suddenly in front of other drivers. State troopers with the Weston detachment of the West Virginia State Police were able to stop the vehicle at the BFS/Huddle House on WBUC Road in Upshur County.
Police were able to identify the passenger as Tawney. During the roadside interview, the vehicle’s occupants allegedly admitted to police that heroin was located inside the vehicle, according to the report. A search was then conducted, during which troopers allegedly found approximately 750 wax paper folds containing fentanyl inside the Ford Explorer, according to the file.
More than a year later, the substance was confirmed by the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory. Tawney also allegedly admitted to police that he and the driver had traveled to Pittsburgh to pick up the seized fentanyl to deliver it to a third party who was supposed to pick it up the next day in Buckhannon.
Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder set bail at $115,000 cash only by Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder.
The potential penalty for a conviction of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl is a fine of not more than $50,000 or confinement in a state correctional facility for not less than three nor more than 15 years or both. In addition, the potential penalty for transporting fentanyl into the state is a fine of not more than $50,000 or imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a definite term of not less than 10 nor more than 20 years, or both.
Finally, the potential penalty for conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance is confinement in the state penitentiary for a determinate sentence of not less than two nor more than 10 years.
