Monongalia County man admits to his role in a drug distribution operation
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jesse Tichenor, of Morgantown, West Virginia, admitted to his involvement in a drug distribution operation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Tichenor, age 27, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility.” Tichenor admitted to using a phone to help distribute “crack” cocaine in March 2017 in Monongalia County.
Tichenor faces up to four years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. 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 Zelda E. Wesley is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crime Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, led the investigation.
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. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.