Tyler County residents admit to drug charges

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Michael Shawn Hartline and Rachel A. Cook, both of Sistersville, West Virginia, have admitted to a drug distribution charges, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Hartline, age 34, and Cook, age 28, each pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.” Hartline and Cook admitted to distributing crystal methamphetamine in Tyler County in November 2017.

Hartline and Cook each face 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. Attorneys Robert H. McWilliams, Jr., and Shawn M. Adkins are prosecuting the cases 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.

Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr. presided over the Hartline hearing. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert presided over the Cook hearing.