CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A St. Albans man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Harold Lee Parsons III, 40, entered his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
On February 5, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Parsons’ residence on 2nd Avenue in St. Albans. Parsons was present in his residence during the search and he admitted that he opened a safe for law enforcement. Inside the safe were 12 baggies containing approximately 330 grams of methamphetamine. Parsons further admitted that he received the drugs from Joseph Cooper, a codefendant, and that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine.
Parsons faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on February 7, 2017.
Cooper previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and faces a minimum of 5 years and up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on January 19, 2017. Benjamin Childers, another individual implicated in this investigation, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison when he is sentenced on January 4, 2017. Also as a result of this investigation, three other codefendants pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Morgan Light, Mark Cobb, and Shayne Shamblen each face up to 20 years in prison when they are sentenced on February 2, 2017.
The investigation of these cases 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 these prosecutions. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., is presiding over these cases.
These cases are being prosecuted 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 illegal drugs, 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 pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.
- Follow us on Twitter:SDWVNews