FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6, 2012
CHARLESTON MAN SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR CRACK COCAINE DISTRIBUTION
Defendant Listed Among Charleston’s West Side DMI Offenders
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced that a Charleston man was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for distributing crack cocaine. Jonathan Cavender also known as “Tubbs,” 26, of Charleston, previously pleaded guilty in April. Cavender admitted that on February 15, 2011, he sold 2.52 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant working with the Charleston Police Department in exchange for $600. Cavender further admitted that on March 2, 2011, he sold 1.06 grams of crack cocaine and on March 10, 2011, he sold .49 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant in exchange for $200 on both occasions.
The Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Monica Coleman handled the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the sentencing.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Charleston area’s Drug Market Intervention (DMI) initiative. The DMI initiative was launched in February 2012 by Charleston Police Chief Brent Webster and U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, in collaboration with other federal, state, local law enforcement agencies and leaders representing several West Side community development organizations. The DMI initiative was initiated in Charleston as a strategic problem-solving effort aimed at closing down open-air drug markets that breed crimes of violence and disorder.
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