Federal court reports

Feb. 24—Raleigh County man gets 30 years in prison for child porn

beckley, w.va. — Thomas John Mills, 37, of Beckley, was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for production of child pornography. Following his release from prison, Mills must register as a sex offender.

According to court records, Mills admitted to coercing a 15-year-old minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct, including masturbation and the lascivious exhibition of her genitals, between March and October 2020 for the purpose of creating images and videos of this conduct. Mills had the minor take pictures and videos to send to him and also had her participate in live video chats where he told her to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

The court described the case as "one of the worst set of circumstances" it has seen.

----Ex-Housing Authority official ordered to pay restitution

charleston, w.va. — Pamela McDaniel, 69, of Charleston, was ordered Thursday to pay $17,543.92 in restitution and sentenced to five years of federal probation, including six months on home detention, for altering a postal money order and embezzling more than $28,000 from the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority (CKHA).

According to court records, McDaniel had been employed by CKHA since 2006 and was serving as a housing manager in 2018. As a housing manager, McDaniel's duties included collecting tenant rental payments and forwarding them to the CKHA accounts clerk. On Jan. 10, 2018, McDaniel received a $235 postal money order from a CKHA tenant intended for rental payment. McDaniel admitted to adding her own name to the postal money order to make it appear as though McDaniel was the intended beneficiary of the payment. McDaniel deposited the postal money order into her personal checking account.

McDaniel further admitted that from 2007 to 2018, she used her position as a CKHA housing manager to embezzle $28,523.30. As part of this scheme, McDaniel altered money orders she received from tenants attempting to pay dues that they owed CKHA and deposited the altered money orders into her personal checking account. McDaniel offset some of the money she stole by repaying a portion of the embezzled funds.

----Kanawha County man pleads guilty to meth conspiracy

charleston, w.va. — Justin Allen Bowen, 40, of Charleston, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to court records, Bowen received methamphetamine from his supplier for several months prior to Dec. 5, 2022. Bowen would receive several pounds of methamphetamine at a time and distribute it to several of his customers throughout Kanawha County.

On Dec. 5, 2023, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at locations where Bowen had delivered methamphetamine the night before and seized a total of approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine found in three locations.

Bowen is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8 and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $10 million fine.

Jasper Wemh, Richard Allen Bowen, McKenzie Bowen, Kimberly Dawn Legg, Larry Wayne Legg, Nicholas Bradford Confere and Stanley Aaron Burkes were indicted along with Justin Allen Bowen and are scheduled for trial on April 25.

----Michigan man sentenced in W.Va. for fentanyl possession

beckley, w.va. — James Meeks- Little, 29, of West Bloomfield, Mich., was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to court records, Meeks-Little was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by law enforcement officers in Beckley on June 24, 2021. Meeks-Little was the subject of an arrest warrant at the time of the traffic stop. Officers found 247.9 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl hidden behind the glove box, and a Springfield, model XD, 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Meeks-Little admitted to possessing the fentanyl mixture and further admitted that he intended to distribute it.

----Man pleads guilty to violating federal sex offender act

beckley, w.va. — Justin Charles Baker, 35, of Smoot, pleaded guilty Friday to failure to provide information related to interstate travel as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

According to court records, Baker was required to comply with the provisions of SORNA because of his conviction for sexual battery in North Carolina on July 19, 2021. Baker traveled from Covington, Va., to the area of Smoot, W.Va., where he resided and worked from August 2022 until Nov. 29, 2022, and failed to register as a sex offender in West Virginia in violation of the requirements of SORNA.

Baker is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

----Mont. man sentenced to 27 years for child exploitation

beckley, w.va. — Gary Lee Hodges, 72, of Bigfork, Mont., was sentenced Friday to 27 years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for two counts of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Hodges must also register as a sex offender.

According to court records, Hodges contacted a woman in Beckley on a social networking website dedicated to individuals interested in sexual fetishes. Hodges learned that the woman had two daughters, ages 11 and 13. Hodges expressed interest in coming to West Virginia to establish a household with the woman and children, where he would engage in sexual activity with both minor females. Specifically, Hodges stated that he planned to engage in sexual intercourse and oral sex on a regular basis with both minor females.

During the next month, Hodges continued to make plans to travel to West Virginia to meet the woman and her daughters. To encourage the children to engage in sexual activity with him, Hodges sent them lingerie and other gifts and booked a trip to take them to Washington, D.C., to visit the zoo. Hodges reserved a hotel room in Beckley to meet the woman and the girls. Hodges flew to Charleston on Jan. 14, 2022, where he was arrested.

The court found that Hodges planned to use the two children as "sex slaves" and called his criminal conduct "abominable."

----Straw purchaser sentenced for firearms trafficking

beckley, w.va. — Maurice Johnson, 36, of Mount Hope, was sentenced Friday to one year in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a conspiracy to traffic more than 140 firearms from the Beckley area to Philadelphia, Pa.

According to court records, Johnson participated in a conspiracy led by Bisheem Jones, also known as "Bosh," that trafficked in firearms purchased in the Southern District of West Virginia from around June 2020 to around July 2021. Johnson was among several straw purchasers enlisted to buy the firearms, with Jones or an intermediary telling Johnson what firearms to purchase and providing the money to buy them.

Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to travel interstate with the intent to engage in dealing firearms without a license and making false statements in acquisition of firearms. Johnson is among 18 defendants who pleaded guilty in connection with firearms trafficking.

After five days of trial, a federal jury found Jones, 37, of Philadelphia, guilty on Dec. 16, 2022, of conspiracy to travel interstate with the intent to deal in firearms without a license, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and interstate travel with the intent to deal in firearms without a license. Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7 and faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison.