Two drug dealers plead guilty to Federal charges in Charleston

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two men pleaded guilty today to federal drug crimes, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto.

Joseph Cooper, 41, of Charleston and Las Vegas, pleaded guilty to possession of 50 or more grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Law enforcement pulled Cooper over on January 20, 2016, in Saint Albans, and seized over 170 grams of methamphetamine, 70 grams of crack, and over $30,000 in cash from the car. Cooper admitted that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine throughout the Southern West Virginia area. Cooper faces a minimum of 5 years and up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 14, 2016.

In a separate drug prosecution, Dennis Walls, 25, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin. Walls admitted that on March 24, 2015, when agents of the Charleston Police Department’s Special Enforcement Unit came to his Fairview Drive residence to inquire about his involvement in dealing heroin in the Charleston area, they found him in the process of weighing heroin for future drug deals. Walls turned over the heroin to law enforcement, along with a .45 caliber handgun. Walls also admitted to his involvement in the distribution of heroin in the area over a several month period. Walls faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 15, 2016.

The investigation of Cooper was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is responsible for the prosecution of Cooper. The Charleston Police Department’s Special Enforcement Unit conducted the investigation of Walls. Assistant United States Attorney John J. Frail is handling the prosecution of Walls. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., presided over both of the plea hearings.

These cases were brought 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.

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