Charleston Man & Parkersburg Man Plead Guilt To Drug Trafficking

Thursday, January 30, 2025, 6:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

CHARLESTON, W.VA.- A 48-year-old Charleston, West Virginia man and a 48-year-old Parkersburg, West Virginia man are both facing spending decades in federal prison after pleading guilty on Monday for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that was responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in the Southern District of West Virginia.

     On Monday, January 27, 2025, Kirt Ray King, 48, of Charleston, West Virginia, and Anthony Michael Mowery, 48, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in connection with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

     King entered a guilty plea to Conspiracy to Distribute 500 Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing Methamphetamine, and Mowery entered a guilty plea of Conspiracy to Distribute 50 Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing Methamphetamine. During their plea allocution on Monday, both King and Mowery admitted to their roles in a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine within the City of Charleston, West Virginia.

According To The U.S. Attorney’s Office

     According to U.S. Attorney Will Thompson and charging documents filed in the District Court, beginning in and around January 2024 and lasting through May 2024, King and Mowery conspired with others to distribute quantities of methamphetamine throughout the City of Charleston and surrounding communities within the Southern District of West Virginia.

     King and Mowery are among four defendants who were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on multiple federal drug trafficking crimes. Co-defendant Michael Dale Cain, 49, of Parkersburg, pleaded guilty on November 6, 2024, and co-defendant John Wayne Harkless, 46, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on November 20, 2024, each to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Both Cain and Harkless are awaiting sentencing.

     Following both King and Mowery entering their guilty pleas, Judge Goodwin accepted the pleas and scheduled both men to be sentenced on April 21, 2025, at which time King faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, at least five years and up to life of supervised release, and a $10 million fine. Mowery faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and up to 40 years in federal prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a $5 million fine.

     When sentenced, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment for King and Mowery based on the seriousness of the offenses and their prior criminal histories.