CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Parkersburg man was sentenced today to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in a multi-state drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana in Parkersburg and elsewhere.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Matthew Edward Depew, 31, admitted to obtaining methamphetamine from Robert Sanders, Jr., between April and July 2021, which he then re-distributed to customers in and around Parkersburg. Depew would often obtain large quantities of methamphetamine on consignment from Sanders, and Sanders would sometimes direct Depew to specific customers. Sanders and Depew would regularly coordinate over the phone regarding when Depew needed more methamphetamine to distribute.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Depew was responsible for several pounds of methamphetamine worth tens of thousands of dollars that he obtained from Sanders and re-distributed within the Parkersburg area. Depew’s involvement in the conspiracy ended when he was arrested following a traffic stop by officers with the Parkersburg Police Department on July 31, 2021. During the traffic stop, officers found approximately 100 grams of methamphetamine in Depew’s possession that he had obtained from Sanders.
Sanders and co-defendants Carlo Ramsey, Floyd Dermonta Ramsey, Era Dawn Corder, and Ambera Roberts all previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. This case results from a nearly year-long investigation dubbed “Long Time Coming.” Roberts was sentenced to one and one-half years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on May 9, 2022. All other defendants are awaiting sentencing. The investigation also resulted in more than a dozen arrests on state criminal complaints in Wood County.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the excellent investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force (PNTF), the Parkersburg Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Vienna Police Department, the Williamstown Police Department, the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Boyd County, Kentucky, Sheriff’s Department, the Russell, Kentucky, Police Department and the Raceland, Kentucky, Police Department.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is 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. 2:21-cr-163.
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