Cross Lanes felon sentenced to federal prison for drug crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Cross Lanes man who sold drugs while on federal supervised release was sentenced to prison today, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Darrell Spicer, 60, previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin. In today’s hearing, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for that offense. He was also sentenced to an additional year and a half in prison for violating his federal supervised release. The sentences will be served consecutively.

Spicer admitted that on June 15, 2016, he sold a substance that he believed was heroin to a confidential informant working with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department. That substance later field-tested positive for fentanyl. Based on that controlled drug buy, a detective from the Sheriff’s Tactical Operations Patrol (STOP) Team obtained a search warrant for Spicer’s residence in Cross Lanes. While searching Spicer’s residence, officers discovered heroin, fentanyl, and over $7,000 in cash, which included pre-recorded buy money used in the controlled purchase. Spicer was present during the search and admitted the recovered drugs belonged to him and that the money was from illegal drug activity.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department’s STOP Team conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is responsible for the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentence.

This prosecution is 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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