Mar. 16—Child porn file sharing sends St. Albans man

to prison for five years

charleston, w.va. — Jonathan Richard Chapman, 43, of St. Albans, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for attempted distribution of child pornography. Chapman must also register as a sex offender.

According to court records, Chapman used a peer-to-peer file sharing program from about June 5, 2021, until June 30, 2022, to make 704 digital media files of suspected child pornography available to others.

Chapman admitted that the digital media files included an image depicting a prepubescent minor female subjected to sexually explicit conduct. Chapman possessed 91 images of child pornography on his personal electronic devices on Aug. 11, 2022. The child pornography included several images and videos depicting infants and toddlers subjected to sexually explicit conduct.

----Parkersburg woman plugs toilet while trying to flush drug evidence

charleston, w.va. — Mary Elizabeth Curran, 37, of Parkersburg, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl.

According to court records, Curran obtained fentanyl in Columbus, Ohio, on April 27, 2021, which she intended to distribute in the Parkersburg area.

Curran was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by law enforcement officers after it entered Wood County from Ohio. Officers suspected that Curran was hiding controlled substances on her person, and she was transported to North Central Regional Jail for an X-ray body scan.

While awaiting the body scan, Curran clogged a bathroom toilet when she attempted to flush two plastic bags containing powder. The toilet was taken apart and the bags were recovered.

The West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory confirmed one bag contained approximately 56 grams of fentanyl and the other bag contained approximately 28.5 grams of a separate controlled substance. The lab also found Curran's DNA on one bag and her fingerprint on the other.

----Parkersburg resident sentenced to prison for possessing firearm

charleston, w.va. — Tytus Lamaar Shields, 34, of Parkersburg, was sentenced Thursday to four years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, Shields possessed a Ruger, model LC9, 9mm semi-automatic pistol in his Parkersburg residence on Nov. 22, 2021.

Shields was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his multiple prior felony convictions, including for trafficking in drugs and engaging in a pattern of criminal activity in the Washington County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas on Oct. 29, 2014.

Shields has a long criminal history that now includes 16 misdemeanor convictions and 17 felony convictions, including several convictions for drug trafficking offenses in Ohio.

Shields was under parole supervision as a result of previous felony convictions in Ohio at the time he possessed the firearm. Parole officers searched his residence and found the firearm while arresting Shields on an Ohio warrant on Nov. 22, 2021.

His sentence will run consecutively to a prison sentence that he is serving out of Washington County, Ohio.