CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A South Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Benjamin Childers, 41, entered his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Law enforcement pulled over Childers in Kansas on November 14, 2015, and officers located approximately 1.7 pounds of crystal methamphetamine hidden underneath the vehicle. Lab testing confirmed that the crystal methamphetamine seized by law enforcement was 90% pure. Childers was part of a conspiracy that involved Joseph Cooper to bring methamphetamine from Nevada for distribution in and around Charleston. Cooper previously pleaded guilty to a federal drug crime and is awaiting sentencing.
Childers faces at least 10 years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on January 4, 2017.
The investigation 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 in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
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 illegal drugs in our communities, including methamphetamine. 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 illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
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