Harrison County man sentenced for his role in a methamphetamine distribution operation

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Michael Lewis Woodyard, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced today to five months probation for his participation in a methamphetamine distribution operation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Woodyard, age 27, was sentenced to five years probation. Woodyard pled guilty to one count of “False Statement to Acquire a Firearm” in January 2018. He admitted to making a false statement when purchasing two pistols in Harrison County in March 2017. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Office of the Attorney General has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, the office announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department investigated. 
 
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.