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Press Release

Seven Individuals Sentenced And Eleven Individuals Convicted In Federal Court

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of West Virginia


1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-7725 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs Specialist

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CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Seven individuals were sentenced and eleven individuals entered guilty pleas, according to United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II.

Judge Keeley sentenced the following:

ERIC SCOTT BARKER, age 33, of Mt. Clare, West Virginia, to 169 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release; ROBERT ALLEN HILL, age 24, of Lost Creek, West Virginia, to 45 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release; and, MEGAN DUNIGAN, age 25, of Fairmont, West Virginia, to 30 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release, for “Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin” and violations of their supervised release. The Court also ordered the forfeiture of $1,506 which was seized. BARKER, HILL and DUNIGAN were remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution. This case was prosecuted by Criminal Chief Shawn A. Morgan and investigated by the Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the Bridgeport Police Department; Clarksburg Police Department; Drug Enforcement Administration; West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service; and, the United States Marshals Service.

FRANKLIN MCVAY, age 27, of Morgantown, West Virginia, to 37 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for a charge of “Felon in Possession of a Firearm.” MCVAY was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the West Virginia State Police; and, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department.

BRIAN FARLEY, age 31, of Clarksburg, was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for a charge of “Obtaining Drugs by Fraud,” and one charge of “Making a Material False Statement.” FARLEY was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert H. McWilliams, Jr. and investigated by the Veterans Administration Office of Inspector General.

LEONARD ROUNDS, age 36, an inmate at FCI Gilmer entered a plea of guilty to “Attempted Possession of a Prohibited Object” when staff members discovered suboxone strips hidden inside a card mailed to inmate ROUNDS, and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment to run concurrently with his current 130-month sentence. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Flower and investigated by the Special Investigative Services Staff at FCI Gilmer.

ERIC SMITH, age 30, of Fairmont, West Virginia, was sentenced to three years probation, with the first six months to be served under home detention, for the “Distribution of Marijuana within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location.” This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Fairmont Police Department.

SEAN MILLER PHILLIPS, JR., age 31, of Eastpoint, Michigan, and JAMILA MCLAUGHRY, age 25, of Morgantown, entered pleas of guilty before Judge Keeley to “Distribution of Heroin within 1,000 Feet of the North Elementary School” in Monongalia County. PHILLIPS, who is in custody, and MCLAUGHRY, who is free on bond, pending sentencing, face up to forty years in prison. In the same case, WILLIAM ANDERSON, age 20 and EDDIE PICKETT, age 20, of Detroit, Michigan, entered pleas of guilty to “Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin.” ANDERSON and PICKETT, who are free on bond pending sentencing, face up to twenty years in prison. This case was investigated by the Mon Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the Morgantown Police Department, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

JOHN CHAMBERS, of Clarksburg, entered a plea of guilty before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull to “Possession of Child Pornography.” CHAMBERS, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to ten years in prison. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

RONALD STARKEY, age 28, of Morgantown, entered a plea of guilty before Judge Kaull to “Felon in Possession of a Firearm.” STARKEY, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to ten years in prison. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The PHILLIPS, CHAMBERS and STARKEY cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley.

SPAYNE SWINDLE, age 19, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before Judge Kaull to “Distribution of Cocaine within 1,000 Feet of the Pierpont Community and Technical College.” SWINDLE, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces up to forty years in prison.

LYNN SPAW, age 44, of Clarksburg, entered a plea of guilty before Judge Keeley to “Distribution of Cocaine within 1,000 Feet of the Pierpont Community and Technical College.” SPAW, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to forty years in prison.

JOSEPH GRANT, age 68, of Bridgeport, West Virginia, entered a plea of guilty before Judge Keeley to “Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premise.” GRANT, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to twenty years in prison.

The SWINDLE, SPAW and GRANT cases were prosecuted by Criminal Chief Shawn A. Morgan and investigated by the Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.

SASHA PEGGUES, age 28, of Morgantown, entered a plea of guilty before Judge Keeley to “Aggravated Identity Theft” by forging checks belonging to an elderly man for whom she was providing care-giving services for her personal use. PEGGUES, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces up to thirty years in prison. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Cogar and investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Morgantown Police Department.

AARON SEIDEL, age 29, of Warren, Illinois, entered a plea of guilty before Judge Keeley to “Traveling in Interstate commerce for the Purpose of Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct.” SEIDEL, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces up to thirty years in prison. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert H. McWilliams, Jr. and investigated by the West Virginia State Police.

Updated January 7, 2015