WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — Two South Carolina men have admitted to trafficking large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine in Ohio County, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced today.
Phillip Johnson, also known as “PNut,” and Mark Chisholm, also known as “Infant Premo,” pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute the illicit drugs in the greater Wheeling area. According to court documents, Johnson and Chisholm worked together to transport and sell nearly half a pound of fentanyl, a half a pound of methamphetamine, and more than two pounds of cocaine across several locations in the Ohio Valley during a two-year period.
Johnson and Chisholm each face up to 20 years for the conspiracy conviction. Johnson also faces five to 40 years for five additional drug charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Reid is prosecuting the case. The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Drug Enforcement Administration 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. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.
