Monongalia County man admits to role in a drug distribution operation in Monongalia County

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Preston Jeffrey Smith, of Morgantown, West Virginia, has admitted to his involvement in a heroin, oxycodone, and cocaine distribution operation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
 
Smith, age 25, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the False Statement in Connection with the Acquisition of a Firearm.” Smith admitted to making a false statement to purchase a 5.56 mm caliber pistol in May 2018 in Monongalia County. 

Smith faces up to 10 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 Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. The United States Marshal Service assisted.

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 Michael John Aloi presided.