Columbus Man Pleads Guilty to Gun and Drug Charges

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Columbus, Ohio man who sold heroin and an illegal firearm in Huntington in 2016 pled guilty today to a federal gun and drug charges, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Jamal Marsalas Glass, 20, entered his guilty pleas to distributing heroin and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  U.S. Attorney Stuart credited the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and emphasized the importance of the agency’s role in addressing gun crime in the City of Huntington.

“The only thing my Office is more committed to than prosecuting dangerous out-of-state drug dealers is prosecuting drug dealers that carry guns.  We are aggressively prosecuting gun toting drug dealers.” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.    

On August 25, 2016, a confidential informant contacted Glass to purchase heroin.  The informant also negotiated the purchase of a firearm from Glass.  The informant subsequently met with Glass inside an Apartment at the Marcum Terrace housing projects in Huntington.  Inside the apartment, Glass sold the informant approximately 3 grams of heroin.  Glass also sold the informant a 9mm pistol which had the serial number obliterated in violation of federal law.  Glass further admitted as part of his plea agreement that he possessed a separate .38 caliber revolver when he conduct the transaction. 

Glass faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the drug charge, and a mandatory minimum consecutive term of at least 5 years in federal prison for the gun charge, when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers on June 11, 2018.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is responsible for the prosecution.

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 trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District. 

This case is also being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking with existing local programs targeting gun crime.

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