Kanawha County Man Sentenced For Federal Drug Charge
Saturday, January 25, 2025, 8:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
CHARLESTON, W.VA.- On Thursday, January 23, 2025, Arthur Ray Elkins, 60, of Chesapeake, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Irene C. Berger to 108 months in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for Distribution of 50 Grams or More of a Substance Containing Methamphetamine.
According to U.S. Attorney Will Thompson and documents filed with the District Court, on March 6, 2023, Elkins sold around 56 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in Chesapeake, West Virginia, for $700 during a controlled buy under the observation of law enforcement investigators.
Following conducting additional controlled buys of methamphetamine from Elkins, on March 15, 2023, investigators obtained and executed a court-authorized search warrant at Elkins’ residence and his adjoining garage. During the search, investigators uncovered and seized around 229 grams of methamphetamine, three firearms, and approximately $3,854 in U.S. currency in denominations consistent with street-level drug sales.
Elkins Admits Using Meth And Selling It Everyday
After being taken into custody and during questioning, Elkins admitted to investigators that he sold methamphetamine on a daily basis, and was a daily user of methamphetamine, and, at times, received firearms as payment in exchange for methamphetamine. On December 13, 2023, investigators located and seized an additional pound of methamphetamine as part of their ongoing investigation into Elkins’ illicit narcotics distribution operation.
In handing down the sentence on Thursday, Judge Berger noted Elkins’ extensive criminal history, which includes multiple felony convictions for breaking and entering, grand larceny, forgery, conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver marijuana, robbery, bank robbery, and conspiracy to steal U.S. Treasury checks from the U.S. Mail.
U.S. Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the U.S. Route 119 Drug Task Force and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
