Columbus man sentenced to more than 17 years for drug conspiracy

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Robert L. Gregory, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced today to 210 months of incarceration for a drug charge, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.

Gregory, 39, pleaded guilty in October 2020 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances.” Gregory admitted to working with others to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base in Wetzel County in the Northern District of West Virginia, the Southern District of West Virginia, Ohio, Georgia and elsewhere from 2016 to 2018.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol; Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Marshall County Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office; the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office; the Sistersville Police Department; the Paden City Police Department; and the New Martinsville Police Department investigated. The Columbus, Ohio, Police Department Gang Crimes Unit assisted in the case.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.

Original press release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/31-ohio-and-west-virginia-residents-are-indicted-connection-drug-distribution-operation