OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
Sharon L. Potter
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist
August 6, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Martinsburg Resident Sentenced For
Manufacturing 465 Marijuana Plants
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 37 year old Martinsburg, West Virginia, resident was sentenced on August 5, 2008, in United States District Court in Martinsburg by Chief Judge John Preston Bailey.
United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that JAMES HASSEL VAN METRE, age 37, formerly of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release, pursuant to an earlier entered plea of guilty. VAN METRE entered a plea of guilty on January 24, 2008, to one count of an Indictment charging him with manufacturing 465 marijuana plants. On November 14, 2003, members of the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant on VAN METRE’s residence in Shepherdstown.
The agents located a large indoor hydroponic marijuana growing operation in an undergrown facility at the residence. The agents found 465 actively growing marijuana plants (street value of $800,000), along with 25.4 kilograms of processed marijuana and evidence of an additional 300 plants from an earlier “grow.” The evidence indicated that in addition to growing marijuana, VAN METRE had been involved from 2000 to 2003 with the importation of approximately 1,137.93 kilograms of marijuana from Canada and Mexico (street value of Canadian marijuana alone was between 4.4 and 7.6 million dollars).
The Court characterized VAN METRE’s conduct as serious and pointed to evidence of one incident where VAN METRE traveled to California and purchased 280 pounds of marijuana from Mexican individuals for $100,000. VAN METRE’s post offense rehabilitation efforts were taken into account during sentencing.
VAN METRE is currently free on bond and will self-report to a designated federal institution.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas O. Mucklow. The case was investigated by the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Task Force consists of officers from the West Virginia State Police - Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Martinsburg Police Department, and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department.