Mercer County Men Plead Guilty To Federal Drug Charges

Bluefield, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that three Mercer County men pled guilty in Bluefield to federal drug charges.  Steven Eugene Champ, 41, of Matoaka, West Virginia, pled guilty to distribution of hydromorphone, admitting that on September 24, 2012, he distributed two hydromorphone pills to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities.  The transaction took place at or near Princeton.  Champ further admitted that he distributed a total of 1,710 hydromorphone pills between July 2011 and February 2013.

Elijah Abdul Jones, 36, of Bluefield, pled guilty to distribution of cocaine base.  He admitted that he sold .72 grams of cocaine base to a person cooperating with police on July 23, 2013, in Bluefield.  He further admitted that he had also distributed a total of 14 grams of cocaine base and a small quantity of heroin. 

Michael Devon Harmon, 37, of Princeton, pled guilty to distribution of hydromorphone, admitting that on July 24, 2013, he distributed two hydromorphone pills to a person cooperating with the police in Princeton.  He also admitted that in addition to that transaction, in July 2013, he sold two more hydromorphone pills and small quantitites of cocaine base and cocaine. 

Each of the defendants faces up to 20 years in prison and a one million dollar fine.  Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber has set each defendant for sentencing on September 22, 2014.

The cases were investigated by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorney John File is handling the prosecutions. 

These cases are 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.  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 in communities across the Southern District.