Beckley Man Sentenced For Role In Drug Trafficking Organization
Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 6:20 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BECKLEY, W.VA.- A 31-year-old Beckley, West Virginia, man will be spending the next nine years in federal prison after being sentenced on Monday for his role in a drug trafficking organization that distributed illicit narcotics throughout Beckley, West Virginia, and in other communities within the Southern District of West Virginia.
On Monday, May 12, 2025, Deona’tre Capri Dowell, 31, 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 108 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on his previously entered guilty plea to a federal narcotics violation.
Dowell previously appeared in Federal Court in Beckley, West Virginia, and pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Fentanyl. During his plea allocution, Dowell admitted to participating in a drug trafficking organization that distributed quantities of crack cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in the Beckley, West Virginia, area and elsewhere in the Southern District of West Virginia.
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 May 25, 2024, during an ongoing narcotics investigation, investigators received information that Dowell obtained an ounce of fentanyl from a co-conspirator at his Beckley, West Virginia residence. During his plea hearing, Dowell admitted to receiving the ounce of fentanyl and to arranging the transaction the day before.
Dowell further admitted that he obtained additional quantities of fentanyl during May 2024 from his supplier on a front and would pay the supplier back with the proceeds from distributing the fentanyl.
On May 30, 2024, federal, local, and state law enforcement agencies obtained and executed a court-authorized search at Dowell’s residence. During the search, investigators located and seized around 535 grams of methamphetamine, 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl, a Romarm AR-Style rifle, and a Glock .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun. Further, during his plea allocution, Dowell admitted to possessing the controlled substance and intended to distribute the substances.
Dowell was among 12 individuals indicted on federal charges that had alleged that the defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack cocaine within the Southern District of West Virginia from around June 2023 through May 2024. All twelve have pled guilty, including two who pleaded guilty to separate charges in lieu of the offenses that were unsealed in the indictment.
