WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Four people have entered guilty pleas in connection to methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Steven Anthony Blatt, 63, and Jeanetta Nicole Sigler, 50, both of Paden City, West Virginia, each pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Blatt, also known as “Stevie,” and Sigler worked together to sell methamphetamine in Wetzel and Tyler Counties. Following a trip to Morgantown to pick up drugs, officers stopped Blatt and Sigler and seized 427 grams of methamphetamine from their vehicle.
D’Angelo Jones, 29, of Wheeling, West Virginia, admitted to possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Jones was selling heroin and fentanyl in Ohio County. Investigators seized 20 grams of heroin and fentanyl, along with a firearm and $1,200 from his residence on Wheeling Island.
Roland N. Copney, 37, of Wheeling, West Virginia, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. During an investigation of gunshots being fired on Wheeling Island, Copney was identified as a possible subject. Officers executed a search warrant at his residence and seized more than 200 grams of methamphetamine, 12 grams of fentanyl, and ammunition.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clayton Reid and Jennifer Conklin are prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.
Investigative agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Marshall County Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the Wheeling Police Department.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.
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.
