Beckley Man Sentenced For Role In Drug Trafficking Organization
Friday, April 4, 2025, 7:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BECKLEY, W.VA.- On Monday, March 31, 2025, Demetrius Terrell Burns, 32, of Beckley, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk to 10 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances.
During his guilty plea, Burns admitted to his role in participating in a drug trafficking organization that distributed quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack cocaine throughout the Beckley, West Virginia, area and elsewhere in the Southern District of West Virginia.
According To The U.S. Attorney’s Office
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston and charging information filed with the District Court, in April 2024, Burns received fentanyl from a supplier in Beckley that he used to supply Tilford Joe Bradley, Jr., a con-defendant. Burns admitted that on April 12, 2024, he told Bradley over the phone that he had just received a package of raw fentanyl.
Burns further admitted that he offered to sell Bradley $1,800 worth of the fentanyl, and they discussed adding cutting agents to the fentanyl to reap a more significant profit when it was sold. Burns also admitted that he knew that Bradley intended to redistribute the fentanyl in the Southern District of West Virginia.
Burns and Bradley were among twelve individuals indicted on federal charges for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack cocaine within the Southern District of West Virginia from June 2023 through May 2024. All twelve defendants have pleaded guilty, including two defendants who pleaded guilty to separate charges in lieu of the offenses unsealed in the indictment.
