Wheeling man sentenced for drug conspiracy

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – William Hinton, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 180 months of incarceration for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.

Hinton, also known as “Abu Twoseventeeen,” age 49, pleaded guilty in February 2022 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base, Cocaine Hydrochloride, Methamphetamine, and Heroin” and one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base.” Hinton admitted to working with others to sell cocaine base, also known as “crack,” cocaine hydrochloride, also known as “coke,” and methamphetamine from June 2019 to August 2021 in Ohio County and elsewhere, including the Southern District of Ohio.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, West Virginia State Police, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wheeling Police Department, investigated. The Belmont County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Clairsville Police Department assisted

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.