HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Scott Lee Midkiff, 35, admitted that he participated in the conspiracy from the summer of 2020 to July 2021. During the conspiracy, Midkiff frequently obtained quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl to distribute to various customers in the Huntington area. Midkiff provided the drugs to customers on consignment and was aware his customers intended to redistribute the drugs. Midkiff also admitted that he participated in arranging drug transactions by steering customers to certain drug dealers when customers would contact Midkiff.
On April 5, 2021, investigators seized over 1.2 pounds of methamphetamine, 130 grams of fentanyl and $84,000 in cash that Midkiff had arranged to be hidden in a vehicle parked in Huntington. When arrest and search warrants were executed in the investigation on July 29, 2021, agents seized an additional 133 grams of fentanyl and $11,600 from a residence Midkiff shared with another individual.
Midkiff faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 27, 2022.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force. The Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force is comprised of officers with the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Hurricane Police Department, and the Marshall University Police Department, with support from the West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West. The Ohio Highway Patrol, the Kentucky State Police, and the FBI and DEA in Columbus, Ohio also assisted in the investigation.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Courtney L. Cremeans are handling the prosecution.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:21-cr-00109.
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