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June 8, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cleveland Resident Indicted on Cocaine Charge

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — A 36 year old Cleveland, Ohio, resident was named in an Indictment returned on June 2, 2009, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Wheeling, West Virginia.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that WILLIAM ABU HINTON was named in a one-count Indictment. The Indictment alleges that HINTON unlawfully possessed more than five grams of cocaine base with the intent to distribute on May 26, 2009, in Wheeling.

If convicted, HINTON faces a maximum penalty of five to 40 years imprisonment and a fine of $2,000,000.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr. The case was investigated by the Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the Wheeling Police Department, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.