Randolph County residents admit to methamphetamine charges

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Patsy Meredith DeMary, of Beverly, West Virginia, and Scott Jackson Hamrick, of Elkins, West Virginia, have admitted to distributing methamphetamine, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

DeMary, age 41, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.”

Hamrick, also known as “Basic,” age 38, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine” and one count of “Possess a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.”

DeMary and Hamrick admitted to working with one another to distribute methamphetamine in Randolph County in 2017.Hamrick also admitted to having a firearm during a drug trafficking crime in June 2017. 

DeMary and Hamrick each face at least five years and up to 40 years incarceration and a fine of up to $5,000,000 for the distribution charge. Hamrick also faces at least five years incarceration and fine of up to $250,000 for the firearms count.  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 Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department investigated. 

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.