Ohio Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun and Drug Crimes

DOJ Press

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – An Ohio man was sentenced today to two and one-half years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for attempted possession with intent to distribute suboxone and conspiracy to use a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Jacob Benjamin Loper, 21, was an inmate at the Western Regional Jail on June 14, 2021, when he used recorded jail phone lines to speak with an individual outside of the jail. Loper instructed the individual to go to a residence at Marcum Terrace in Huntington to recover $1,500 worth of suboxone that belonged to Loper and was believed to be in the possession of another person. Loper consented to the individual carrying a firearm to retrieve the suboxone. Loper’s associate was unable to retrieve the suboxone from the residence. As Loper’s associate and another individual at the scene were driving away from the residence, a shootout occurred between them and an occupant of the residence. Subsequent to the shooting, Loper communicated via phone with the person believed to be in possession of the suboxone and threatened that if he did not receive his drugs or get paid for them, that shootings would keep happening. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Huntington Police Department, and the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Investigations Unit.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Keefe prosecuted the case.


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-215.


 

 

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