Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Anthony Michael Mowery, 48, of Parkersburg, was sentenced today to nine years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and violating supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from in or about January 2024 to in or about May 2024, Mowery conspired with others in a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) that distributed methamphetamine in the Charleston area. Mowery facilitated meetings during which his co-conspirators exchanged large quantities of methamphetamine for distribution.
On May 5, 2024, Mowery arranged for co-conspirator Michael Dale Cain to travel to Charleston for the purpose of picking up approximately 3 pounds of methamphetamine from another co-conspirator, Kirt Ray King, that Cain intended to transport to Parkersburg and distribute to others. After Cain acquired the methamphetamine, he was stopped by law enforcement officers who searched his vehicle, seized the methamphetamine, and arrested Cain.
Mowery has a long criminal history that includes prior convictions for unlawful assault, assault, battery, child abuse, destruction of property, and fleeing from an officer. At the time of this offense, Mowery was serving a term of supervised release as a result of his July 5, 2018, conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Today’s sentence includes two years in prison, to run concurrently to the nine-year sentence imposed by the Court, for committing a crime while on supervised release.
Mowery is among four individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in the DTO conspiracy. All four pleaded guilty. Cain, 49, of Parkersburg, was sentenced on January 29, 2025, to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. King, 48, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on January 27, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23, 2025. Co-defendant John Wayne Harkless, 46, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on November 20, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23, 2025.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentences. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuted the case.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program 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. 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. 2:24-cr-95.
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