Press Release
Two drug dealers appear in Federal court for heroin crimes
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two heroin dealers appeared in federal court today for drug crimes, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Antoine Joshua Broner, 37, of Charleston, was sentenced to a year and four months in federal prison for distribution of heroin. In a separate prosecution, Lawrence Matthew Garner, 34, of Parkersburg, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin.
Broner admitted that on August 4, 2015, he sold heroin to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. Following the drug deal, officers seized $615 from Broner’s house in Charleston, $75 of which was pre-recorded buy money used in the controlled purchase with the confidential informant. Broner further admitted to possessing additional heroin at his residence that he intended to distribute.
In a separate heroin prosecution, Garner admitted that on July 16, 2015, he was arrested by members of the South Charleston Police Department for delivery of a controlled substance. During a search incident to arrest, officers found over 37 grams of heroin in Garner’s possession. Garner faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on July 14, 2016.
The investigation of Broner was conducted by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is in charge the prosecution of Broner. The case against Garner was investigated by the South Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is handling the prosecution. The defendants appeared before United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
This case 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 illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Updated April 7, 2016
Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component