HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two Huntington men were sentenced to prison today for their roles in a multi-state drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and other illegal drugs in the Huntington area.
Edward Shane Midkiff, 35, was sentenced to three years and one month for distribution of methamphetamine. Mark Anthony Chandler, 31, was sentenced to four years and four months for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Each prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Midkiff admitted that a confidential informant contacted him on January 12, 2021, to arrange a methamphetamine purchase. Midkiff directed the informant to the 500 block of 4th Avenue in Huntington to complete the transaction. At that location, Midkiff met with the informant in a vehicle and sold the informant methamphetamine.
Chandler admitted to receiving approximately one-half kilogram of cocaine from a co-defendant, William Raeshaun Byrd, in Huntington on June 30, 2021. Chandler was subsequently transporting the cocaine to another location when a deputy with the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop of Chandler’s vehicle. Chandler fled from the stop and was arrested on a later date. During the stop, the deputy seized the cocaine as well a 9mm pistol that Chandler left in the vehicle. Chandler admitted that he intended to distribute the cocaine.
All 18 individuals indicted have pleaded guilty in the case, the result of a long-term investigation that disrupted the DTO and its distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine, oxycodone, heroin, cocaine and cocaine base, also known as “crack.” Law enforcement seized more than 47 pounds of fentanyl, 6.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 4.5 pounds of cocaine, 2 pounds of heroin, 14 firearms and $335,000.
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 consists of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office, 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 imposed the sentences. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Courtney L. Cremeans prosecuted the case.
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-109.
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