BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Detroit man pleaded guilty today to distribution of fentanyl.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Eddie E. Kellom, also known as “Ace,” 23, admitted to selling a quantity of fentanyl to a confidential informant near Coal City, Raleigh County, on May 21, 2021. Kellom also admitted to selling fentanyl on three other occasions. Each of these transactions also occurred in Raleigh County.
Kellom further admitted to possessing approximately 250 grams of fentanyl recovered during a January 11, 2022, traffic stop by law enforcement officers near Putnam County. Kellom admitted that he intended to distribute the fentanyl in and around the Southern District of West Virginia.
Kellom is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9, 2022, and faces up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit (BRCDVCU), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for conducting the investigation.
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is prosecuting the case.
The case is a result of a months-long investigation dubbed “Operation Wolverine Carousel,” an investigation into the wide-spread distribution of heroin and fentanyl in Raleigh and Fayette Counties.
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. 5:22-cr-31.
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