Charleston man pleads guilty to Federal drug charge

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that a Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal heroin charge. Thomas Kerr Clements, 53, entered a guilty plea in federal court in Charleston, West Virginia, to distributing heroin.

Clements admitted that on May 27, 2015, he sold heroin to a confidential informant working with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place at the defendant’s residence, located in the Rand area of Charleston. 

Clements faces up to 20 years in federal prison a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on March 17, 2016, in federal court in Charleston.

The case against Clements was investigated by the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff’s Tactical Operations Patrol Team. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is in charge of the prosecution.

This 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 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 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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