WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A Chicago, Illinois man was sentenced today for operating a drug distribution organization that transported fentanyl from Chicago, Illinois, to Weirton, West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Gerald Henry, also known as “Unc,” “G,” and “G-ball,” age 41, was sentenced to 480 months in federal prison for the possession and distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Henry transported large quantities of fentanyl to Hancock County, West Virginia to distribute to others for sale. Investigators seized more than 400 grams of fentanyl, a firearm, and ammunition from a search of Henry’s Weirton residence. Agents linked 1,435 grams of fentanyl to Henry during the investigation. Henry has a lengthy criminal history that includes multiple drug convictions.
“Henry was responsible for enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman, and child of the Upper Ohio Valley six times over,” said U.S. Attorney Harvey. “I commend our law enforcement partners for their diligence in getting this poison out of our communities and saving lives.”
Jasmine McCullough, 42, of Chicago, Illinois; Stephen Price, 40, of Chicago, Illinois; Daniel Pail Truax, 47, of Weirton, West Virginia; Paula Jean Truax, 45, of Weirton, West Virginia; and William Dean Tredway, 36, of Colliers, West Virginia have each previously entered guilty pleas for their roles in the operation. Tredway was sentenced to 9 months in prison. The others’ sentencings are pending.
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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clayton Reid and Carly Nogay prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Investigative agencies include the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the United States Marshals Service; the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office; the Brooke County Sheriff’s Office; the Weirton Police Department; the West Virginia State Police; the Jefferson County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office; the Steubenville, Ohio, Police Department; and the Wheeling Police Department.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
