Charleston Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Heroin

Defendant Caught with Hydrocodone, Cash and Stolen Firearms

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Kennele Groom, 36, pleaded guilty today in federal court to distributing heroin in Charleston, West Virginia, where he resides.  In February 2014, Groom was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of distributing heroin and one count of possession with intent to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone.  In connection with his guilty plea, Groom agreed to forfeit to the United States all proceeds from his drug trafficking, including over $40,000 cash seized from his residence on January 14, 2014.  Groom faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment when he is sentenced on August 11, 2014.

This case was investigated by the Charleston Police Department. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston conducted today’s guilty plea hearing.

This case is being 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 heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill and heroin trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.