Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Today, Timothy A. Ward, 41, and his wife Sarah J. Ward, 40, both of St. Albans, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the Wards admitted that they distributed methamphetamine or aided and abetted each other to distribute methamphetamine to confidential informants on seven occasions in Kanawha County from October 2, 2023, through December 6, 2023. The Wards further admitted that they received money for several of these transactions, and for others received clothing that was shoplifted at their direction. The transactions included the sale of a half-ounce of methamphetamine to a confidential informant at a St. Albans bar on October 2, 2023.
Timothy A. Ward also admitted that he sold a firearm at the couple’s St. Albans residence to a confidential informant who had purchased methamphetamine from him on prior occasions on December 7, 2023. Sarah J. Ward admitted that she arranged the sale of the firearm, and that she knew her husband was a convicted felon.
Timothy A. Ward and Sarah J. Ward are scheduled to be sentenced on June 6, 2024, and each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the St. Albans Police Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearings. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum is prosecuting the case.
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. 2:23-cr-201.
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