Two More Defendants Plead Guilty to Roles in Kanawha County Drug Trafficking Organization

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two Kanawha County residents pleaded guilty on October 8, 2025, to their roles in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Charleston area between June 2024 and May 2025.

Amanda Marie Mace, also known as “A,” 42, of South Charleston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and Adrian Lamont Carter, 45, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Mace took part in the conspiracy between June 2024 and April 2025. As part of her guilty plea, Mace admitted that she obtained at least 30 pounds of methamphetamine during the time period from co-conspirator Robert Ford, and that he transported it to West Virginia from Detroit, Michigan. Mace further admitted that she made $200 to $300 for each pound of methamphetamine she sold for Ford, that her main customers were re-distributing the methamphetamine that she sold to them, and that she sold most of her methamphetamine to co-conspirators Michael Allen Corkhill and Quanda Kiev Wilborne.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Carter obtained fentanyl from an out-of-town source and distributed it to several customers in the Charleston area.  When officers executed a search warrant at his Charleston home in April 2025, they located a quantity of fentanyl as well as other items indicative of fentanyl distribution.

Mace and Carter are scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2026. Mace faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. Carter faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million.

Mace, Carter, Ford, Corkhill, and Wilborne are among 16 individuals indicted as the result of a federal investigation on charges alleging they participated in the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Charleston area between June 2024 and May 2025.  Five defendants in the main indictment pleaded guilty including Mace, Carter, and Wilborne, also known as “Quan” and “Queso,” 29, of Charleston. Four additional defendants who pleaded guilty in separate cases that resulted from the investigation. The indictment against the remaining defendants is pending. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), which is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearings. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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. 2:25-cr-78.

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