Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Upshur County residents admit to their roles in a methamphetamine distribution operation
LKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Two Buckhannon, West Virginia residents have admitted today to conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Amanda Mae Bachman, also known as “AB,” age 33, and Steven Larry Harper, also known as “Skip,” age 40, each pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.” Bachman and Harper admitted to conspiring with others to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. The crime occurred in Upshur County and elsewhere from March 2016 to September 2017.
Bachman and Harper each face up to life incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department investigated.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.