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Press Release

Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Crime

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Jaron Andrew O'Neal, 38, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, investigators obtained a search warrant for a package addressed to a Barboursville address after a K9 alerted to the package. Investigators opened the package and found it contained approximately 1 kilogram of fentanyl. Investigators replaced the fentanyl with a sham substance and conducted a controlled delivery of the package to the Barboursville address. On January 24, 2023, O'Neal retrieved the package from the address and drove away with it in his vehicle. Investigators conducted a traffic stop of O’Neal’s vehicle and found the package in the vehicle. O’Neal told investigators that he retrieved the package believing that it contained controlled substances.

O'Neal is scheduled to be sentenced on April 28, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Courtney L. Finney is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS), an enforcement surge that has sought to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-85.

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Updated January 13, 2025

Topics
Drug Trafficking
Opioids