Federa court reports

Jul. 6—Ohio man pleads guilty to fentanyl crime

huntington, w.va. — Jermaine Lee Smith, 34, of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty Thursday to aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl. According to court records, Smith and Benjamin Jack Reed, 42, of Huntington, sold approximately 27 grams of fentanyl on April 29, 2022, to a confidential informant in a Huntington parking lot.

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Reed pleaded guilty on Feb. 13 to aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl. Reed is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10.

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Huntington man pleads guilty to federal gun crime

huntington, w.va. — Kenneth Dale Walker, 34, of Huntington, pleaded guilty Thursday to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, a law enforcement officer conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Walker in Guyandotte. Walker was wearing an empty holster on his hip. Walker told the officer a firearm was under his seat. The officer recovered a Taurus, G2cm 9mm pistol under the seat. Walker admitted to possessing the firearm.

Walker was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony conviction for unlawful wounding in Cabell County Circuit Court on Sept. 3, 2010.

Walker is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

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Operation Smoke & Mirrors update:

Charleston man sentenced for drug conspiracy

charleston, w.va. — Larry Wayne Legg, 56, of Charleston, was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Legg admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated in the Charleston area.

According to court records, Legg admitted to obtaining quantities of methamphetamine from co-defendant Justin Allen Bowen over several months prior to Dec. 5, 2022. Legg further admitted to selling the methamphetamine with co-defendant Kimberly Dawn Legg out of their Lotus Drive residence in Charleston. Larry Wayne Legg would typically weigh the methamphetamine for individual sales, and Kimberly Dawn Legg would handle the money. The two shared a cell phone to arrange obtaining additional quantities of methamphetamine from Bowen.

On Dec. 5, 2022, law enforcement officers searched the Lotus Drive residence and found approximately 1 pound of methamphetamine. Larry Wayne Legg admitted to receiving the methamphetamine from Bowen and further admitted that he intended to sell the methamphetamine with Kimberly Dawn Legg.

Bowen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on Feb. 23. Kimberly Dawn Legg pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. They are among 30 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. Law enforcement has seized over 200 pounds of methamphetamine as well as 28 pounds of cocaine, 20 pounds of fentanyl, 18 firearms and $747,000 in cash.

More than a dozen of the defendants have pleaded guilty. Indictments against the other defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.