Berkeley County residents arraigned on drug distribution charges

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Two Martinsburg, West Virginia, residents were arraigned today in federal court after being indicted on August 14, 2018 by a federal grand jury sitting in Martinsburg on drug distribution charges, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Ellis Reginald Fennell, also known as “Z,” age 30, and Samione Monay Jones, age 31, are each charged with one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Base ‘Crack’,” and two counts of “Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Cocaine Base ‘Crack’.” Fennell and Jones are accused of selling “crack” cocaine in May 2017 in Berkeley County and elsewhere.

Fennell and Jones each face up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000 for each count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecutor’s Office, is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.