On July 17, Christopher Anthony O’Dell, 39, of Hurricane, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
O’Dell admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Southern District of West Virginia.
According to statements presented in court, O’Dell participated in the DTO from approximately November 2022 through November 2023. O’Dell admitted that he sold approximately 1.1 grams of fentanyl and 3.5 grams of methamphetamine for $200 to a confidential informant on August 18, 2023. O’Dell further admitted that the transaction took place at his Hurricane residence, and that he arranged it beforehand with the confidential informant by text message.
The DTO participants used a St. Albans residence to store and distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. O’Dell conducted distributions and transported various individuals from the St. Albans residence to a Ninth Avenue residence in Huntington where they received additional amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine before O’Dell transported them back to the St. Albans residence.
On August 28, 2023, a law enforcement officer conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by O’Dell in St. Albans. The officer seized approximately 51 grams of fentanyl and two muzzleloading pistols from the vehicle during the traffic stop. O’Dell admitted that co-defendant Jashawn William Lawson was a passenger in his vehicle during the traffic stop and that he was aware that Lawson was in possession of fentanyl that Lawson was transporting to St. Albans to distribute. O’Dell further admitted to possessing the seized firearms.
O’Dell and Lawson are among 27 individuals indicted in a 53-count indictment that charges the defendants with distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl transported from Detroit, Michigan, in Huntington and other locations within the Southern District of West Virginia.
Lawson, also known as “Nitty,” 23, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty on April 16, 2024, to aiding and abetting possession with the intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine and awaits sentencing.
O’Dell and Lawson are among 21 defendants who have pleaded guilty in the main case. One other of the 27 indicted individuals pleaded guilty to a related offense in a separate case. The indictment against the remaining defendants is pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
