Two heroin dealers plead guilty to Federal drug charges

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –  Two drug dealers pleaded guilty today in federal court to heroin charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto.

Keon Terrell Ross, 24, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Ross admitted that on October 20, 2015, he traveled from Detroit to Charleston with approximately a kilogram of heroin that he intended to distribute. Law enforcement found Ross with the heroin in his hotel room at the Best Western on Washington Street East in Charleston. Ross faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on April 7, 2016. 

Antoine Joshua Broner, 37, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to distribution of 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. Broner faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on April 4, 2016. 

The investigation of Ross was conducted by the Charleston Police Department and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT). The investigation of Broner was conducted by MDENT. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is in charge of these prosecutions. The defendants entered their guilty pleas 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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