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April 7, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three Central West Virginia Residents
Sentenced on Cocaine Charges

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — Three Central West Virginia residents were sentenced on April 2 and April 6, 2009, in United States District Court in Clarksburg by Judge Irene M. Keeley.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that:

SHANNON ROSE AMSLER, age 23, of Salem, West Virginia, was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment to be followed by four years supervised release. AMSLER entered a plea of guilty in December 2008 to one count of an Indictment charging her with the distribution of cocaine base within 1,000 feet of the Broadway Park playground in Clarksburg on November 30, 2007. AMSLER is currently free on bond and will self-report to a designated federal institution.

HOLLY NEIL BENNETT, age 34, of Stonewood, West Virginia, was sentenced to 170 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release. BENNETT entered a plea of guilty on December 15, 2008, to one count of an Indictment charging her with maintaining a drug-involved premise in Clarksburg in order to possess with intent to distribute and store “crack” cocaine between April and September 2008. BENNETT is in federal custody.

AMBER DAWN MERRIFIELD, age 24, of Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia, was sentenced to five months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release, the first five months of which are to be served in home detention. MERRIFIELD entered a plea of guilty on January 6, 2009, to one count of an Indictment charging her with aiding and abetting in the distribution of “crack” cocaine on April 17, 2008, in Kingmont, Marion County. MERRIFIELD is currently free on bond and will self-report to a designated federal institution.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn Angus Morgan. The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the Harrison/Lewis County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force; the West Virginia State Police - Bureau of Criminal Investigation; and the Three Rivers Drug Task Force. The Harrison/Lewis County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force consists of officers from the Clarksburg Police Department, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Three Rivers Drug Task Force consists of officers from the Fairmont Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.