Beckley man sentenced on federal drug charge

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Demetrice Johnson, 42, of Beckley, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

In November 2014, Johnson pleaded guilty to distributing heroin to a confidential informant. The drug deal took place on Robert C. Byrd Drive in Beckley.

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence.

The case was investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, and was prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative.

The case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and opiates. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.

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