CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston methamphetamine dealer pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Keary Drake, 48, entered his guilty plea to distribution of methamphetamine.
Drake admitted that on April 28, 2016, he sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant working with the Sheriff’s Tactical Operations Patrol (STOP) team of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office. Drake also admitted that he sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant on two more occasions in June and July of 2016. On July 13, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Drake’s residence on Bakers Fork Road in Charleston and recovered methamphetamine. Drake admitted to law enforcement that he had been dealing methamphetamine for six months and had sold approximately 84 grams.
Drake faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on February 23, 2017.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
This case is 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.
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