Detroit man sentenced for federal heroin distribution

Charleston, W.Va. – Dennis Pinckney, 23, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced today in federal court in Charleston to seven months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.   Pinckney previously pled guilty in May of 2015 admitting that he had travelled with two other males from Detroit in June of 2014 to a residence in Rand, West Virginia with heroin that they intended to sell.  During execution of a search warrant by agents of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) at the Rand home, heroin was seized along with money that had been used by law enforcement to make undercover buys of heroin. Pinckney, who was in the house when agents arrived, was arrested.  He admitted his involvement in transporting the heroin and serving as a “lookout” during drug deals.

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 heroin and prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal heroin and pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.