Huntington man pleads guilty to federal heroin crime

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man caught with heroin in January 2015 pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Daniel Justin Watts, 32, entered his guilty plea to a single-count indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute heroin.

On January 7, 2015, agents with the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force arrested Watts in a parking lot at 1034 14th Street West in Huntington after observing Watts distributing heroin in the area. Watts was transported to the Huntington Police Department and, during a search, was found to be in possession of heroin he had concealed in his groin area. The heroin was packaged for distribution, and Watts admitted that he intended to sell the heroin. As part of the plea agreement, Watts further admitted that he distributed heroin in West Huntington during the months of December 2014 and January 2015.

Watts faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on November 20, 2017.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is handling the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.

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 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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