Former Detroit Man Pleads Guilty To Selling Heroin On Charleston's East End

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A man who sold heroin on Charleston’s East End pleaded guilty today in federal court in Charleston, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Darrell Shawton Collins, 36, originally from Detroit, Michigan, faces up to 20 years in prison for heroin distribution.  In December of 2013, detectives with the Charleston Police Department Special Enforcement Unit used a confidential informant to buy heroin from Collins. The drug deal took place at the corner of Washington Street East and Thompson Street. At the time of the drug deal, Collins was on federal supervised release for a prior drug trafficking offense.  His supervised release was revoked today following his guilty plea. Sentencing is scheduled for August 14, 2014.

The Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada is in charge of 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.