WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – The final defendant in a drug trafficking operation that stretched from Cleveland, Ohio, to the Ohio Valley was sentenced today, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced.
Joshua Carney, 32, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, fentanyl, and heroin and the distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a protected location.
The investigation began in January 2024 after reports of drug activity at Carney’s residence on Wetzel Street in Wheeling. A traffic stop of two individuals leaving the home resulted in the seizure of more than $5,000 in cash and multiple cell phones.
A search warrant executed at the residence led officers to Carney and a co-defendant hiding in a utility closet and resulted in the seizure of cocaine base and fentanyl. Throughout the investigation, the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force conducted controlled drug purchases, including more than 5 grams of methamphetamine Carney sold near Ritchie Elementary School.
The other three defendants in this case have been convicted and sentenced for their roles. Rahim Duncan, 32, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to 63 months in prison in October 2025. Terrell Sparks, 30, also from Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced in January 2026 to 41 months in federal prison. Tyshaun Johnson, 30, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to 115 months in prison in March 2026.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Reid prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
