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April 20, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three Sentenced on Drug & Firearms Violations

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — Three defendants were sentenced on April 9 and April 14, 2009, in United States District Court in Clarksburg by Judge Irene M. Keeley.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that:

MONTE MOORE, also known as “MARCUS,” age 20, of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 150 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release. MOORE entered guilty pleas on December 11, 2008, to two counts of an Indictment charging him with conspiracy to violate Federal Firearms Laws regarding a “straw purchase” of a firearm in Harrison County in October 2007; and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, also known as “crack,” within 1,000 feet of a playground in Clarksburg on March 13, 2008. MOORE’s sentence was increased due to his possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime and his failure to cooperate under the terms of his plea agreement. MOORE is in federal custody.

KENNETH KENNEDY, age 21, also of McKeesport, was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release. KENNEDY entered guilty pleas on December 19, 2008, to two counts of an Indictment charging him with conspiracy to violate Federal Firearms Laws regarding a “straw purchase” of a firearm in Harrison County in October 2007; and distribution of cocaine base on November 7, 2007, in Clarksburg. KENNEDY is in federal custody.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the Harrison/Lewis County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force; the West Virginia State Police - Bureau of Criminal Investigation; and the Three Rivers Drug Task Force.

CLOYD LILLEY, age 52, of Shinnston, was sentenced to 70 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release. LILLEY entered a plea of guilty on January 14, 2009, to one count of an Indictment charging him with maintaining a residence in Shinnston for the purpose of storing and distributing “crack” cocaine and marijuana from September 2007 to September 2008. LILLEY is in federal custody. The case was investigated by the Harrison/Lewis County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the West Virginia State Police - Bureau of Criminal Investigations; and the Three Rivers Drug Task Force.

The Harrison/Lewis County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force consists of officers from the Clarksburg Police Department, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Three Rivers Drug Task Force consists of officers from the Fairmont Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn Angus Morgan.