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Press Release

Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Crime

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

BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Detroit man pleaded guilty today to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute the drug in Raleigh County.  

According to court documents, on December 17, 2020, Martinis Irving, 44, of Detroit Michigan, was stopped on Interstate 77 near Beckley for speeding in a construction zone.   After he was stopped, a drug dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the car being driven by Irving.  Law enforcement officers then obtained a search warrant for the car and discovered approximately 1,100 grams of heroin hidden in the car.  Irving ultimately admitted that the recovered heroin was his and that it was his intent to distribute the heroin within the Southern District of West Virginia.   

Irving pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and faces a mandatory minimum period of at least five years and up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on August 6, 2021.   

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement.  Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is prosecuting the case.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, which is comprised of officers from the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, the Beckley Police Department and the West Virginia State Police, conducted the investigation. 

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing.

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. 5:21-cr-00011.

 

 

 

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Updated April 23, 2021

Topics
Drug Trafficking
Opioids