Ohio man sentenced for cocaine charge

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Tajuan Smith, of Canal Winchester, Ohio, was sentenced today to 16 months incarceration for distributing cocaine, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Smith, also known as “Poe,” age 20, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base Within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location” in June 2019. Smith admitted to selling cocaine near Jensen Playground in Wheeling in June 2018. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the West Virginia State Police investigated. 

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.