Detroit Man Sentenced To More Than Three Years For Role In Huntington Heroin Conspiracy

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Detroit man was sentenced today for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute heroin in Huntington, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Jakaiser Wesley Jackson, 21, who previously pleaded guilty in July of 2014 to conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison. United States Chief District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed today’s sentence.

From January 2014 to April 2, 2014, Jackson conspired to distribute heroin with others, including Christopher Lamarr-Shawn Harris.  Harris recruited Jackson and other co-conspirators to distribute heroin, mostly in the West Huntington area, and frequently arranged for the transportation of heroin from Detroit, Michigan, to Huntington.  Harris and Jackson used multiple locations to store, prepare and distribute heroin, including the Red Roof Inn Hotel on Route 60 in Huntington and multiple residences in West Huntington.  Harris and Jackson also recruited local residents in West Huntington to assist in heroin distributions.

Harris was arrested on December 31, 2013, when officers with the Huntington Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit executed a search warrant at an apartment at 1416 Jefferson Avenue in West Huntington.  Officers seized more than 400 grams of heroin and $12,349 in cash during the search. Officers also arrested Harris, Denzell Lamar Bunkley, and Steven Edward Lewis, who were inside the apartment.

Harris was arrested again on February 20, 2014, in Ohio by the Ohio State Highway Patrol while traveling from Huntington to Detroit. During his arrest, officers seized another $24,930 from Harris.
Harris was arrested for a third time on April 2, 2014, after officers received information that he was selling heroin from the Red Roof Inn in Huntington.  Officers executed a search warrant for two rooms at the hotel and seized approximately 192 grams of heroin and $3,000 in cash. Harris and Jackson had arranged to bring the heroin from Detroit to Huntington just days prior to the search.  Jackson was also involved, along with Harris, in transporting heroin from Detroit on other occasions during the conspiracy.

Jackson was the fifth defendant to be sentenced in connection with this heroin conspiracy.  Brandon S. Keaton was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment in July 2014.  Harris was sentenced to 147 months’ imprisonment and Bunkley was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment, both on October 6, 2014.  Lewis was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment on October 13, 2014.

The Huntington Police Department Special Investigations Unit, the West Virginia State Police, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Marshals Service all participated in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case was brought 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 pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiates and heroin in communities across the Southern District.