Mineral County man admits to role in a drug distribution operation

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Nathan E. Carpenter, of Elk Garden, West Virginia, has admitted to his involvement in a drug distribution conspiracy, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Carpenter, age 29, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.” Carpenter admitted to working with others to distribute methamphetamine from August 2017 to June 2018 in Mineral, Hardy, and Hampshire Counties and elsewhere.

Carpenter faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The West Virginia State Police, and the Potomac Highlands Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force investigated. 

The investigation was funded in part 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. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.