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Press Release

Ohio man admits to drug distribution charge

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of West Virginia

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Tyler Estep, of Galloway, Ohio, has admitted to a drug distribution charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Estep, age 31, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances.” Estep admitted to conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base in Wetzel County, West Virginia, as well as Ohio and Georgia from July 2015 to April 2018.

Estep 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 Robert H. McWilliams, Jr., is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Marshall County Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office; the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office; the Sistersville Police Department; the Paden City Police Department; and the New Martinsville Police Department investigated. The Columbus, Ohio, Police Department Gang Crimes Unit assisted in the case. 

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 James P. Mazzone presided.

Updated February 19, 2019

Topic
Drug Trafficking