Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Cleveland, Ohio man has pled guilty to a drug crime, according to United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Troskey Banks, 23, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

“Drug peddlers are not welcome here, as this defendant and his friend discovered and as hundreds of other defendants have discovered,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “I am committed to keeping our communities safe. A big part of keeping communities safe is done through cooperative efforts with law enforcement to rid our streets of the poison and its peddlers.”

Banks admitted that in January 2020, he directed Clay Dempsey to drive to Cleveland, Ohio, to obtain controlled substances for Banks to distribute. Banks told Dempsey to park the van containing the drugs at a location in South Charleston upon his return so Banks could retrieve the drugs. When law enforcement officers searched the van, they recovered a bag of suspected fentanyl weighing approximately 105.2 grams, which field-tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, and a bag of suspected methamphetamine weighing 118.7 grams, which field-tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine.

Banks faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on ­­­­November 18, 2020. Dempsey, who pled guilty last month to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl, also faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on October 28, 2020.

The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) and the South Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Monica Coleman is handling the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-00035.

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