Fayette County Man Sentenced For Federal Drug Crime

Thursday, June 5, 2025, 6:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

BECKLEY, W. VA.- A 46-year-old Mount Hope, West Virginia, drug peddler will be spending nearly a year in federal prison after being sentenced on Tuesday for selling a controlled substance to a confidential informant.

     On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Robert Lee Moran, 46, of Mount Hope, 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 9 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Fentanyl.

According To The U.S. Attorneys Office

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston and charging documents filed with the District Court, during an ongoing narcotics investigation into the distribution of illicit narcotics within the Fayette County, West Virginia area, Moran was identified as a distributor of fentanyl. On January 29, 2024, Moran sold around 0.857 grams of fentanyl to a confidential informant for $100 in Beckley, West Virginia, during a controlled buy under the observation of law enforcement Investigators.

     On April 30, 2024, following developing of additional evidence into Moran’s drug distribution activities, Investigators obtained and executed a court-authorized search warrant at Moran’s Mount Hope, West Virginia residence. During the search, Investigators located and seized two bags of fentanyl, multiple firearms, and items of drug paraphernalia consistent with drug distribution.

     During his earlier plea allocution, Moran admitted to selling the fentanyl to the confidential informant and to arranging the sale beforehand. In handing down the sentence on Tuesday, Judge Volk noted Moran’s criminal history, including convictions for domestic battery, destruction of property, possession of a hoax bomb, and harboring a fugitive.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the investigative work of the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, which led to the successful prosecution of Moran.