Ohio County woman sentenced for fentanyl distribution

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Paula Blake, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 18 months of incarceration for drug distribution, Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.

Blake, age 45, pled guilty in February 2020 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances” and one count of “Distribution of Fentanyl within 1000 feet of a Protected Location.” Blake admitted to working with others to distribute cocaine base or “crack,” heroin, and fentanyl from September 2018 to June 2019 in Ohio County and elsewhere. She also admitted to selling fentanyl near Luau Manor in June 2019.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. 

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.