Detroit Man Sentenced For West Virginia Federal Drug Crime

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 1:30 P.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

HUNTINGTON, W.VA.- Yesterday, a 32-year-old Detroit, Michigan, man learned he will be spending nearly the next four years in federal prison after being sentenced for possessing just a little over a pound of cocaine during a traffic stop in Huntington, West Virginia.

     On Monday, April 21, 2025, Joe Dante Townsend, 32, of Detroit, Michigan, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers to 46 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Cocaine.

According To Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston and charging documents filed with the District Court, on June 11, 2024, Townsend was a backseat passenger in a vehicle that had been stopped by members of the Huntington Police Department.

     During the traffic stop, Police Officers conducted a consent search of the vehicle. During the search, Police Officers found a backpack in the backseat containing just around 499 grams of cocaine. Townsend admitted to Police Officers that the backpack belonged to him, and that he had transported the cocaine by bus from Detroit to Huntington, West Virginia, where he intended to distribute the cocaine for financial gain.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the investigative work of the Huntington Police Department and the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force which led to the successful prosecution of Townsend.