1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist

 

August 27, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Buckhannon Resident Indicted on Drug Charges

 

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA — A 26 year old Buckhannon, West Virginia, resident was named in an Indictment returned on August 24, 2010, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Elkins, West Virginia.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced that JESSE E. HOWES was charged in a three-count Indictment. Specifically, Count One of the Indictment alleges that HOWES conspired with others to manufacture methamphetamine from December 2008 to June 7, 2010, in Upshur County. Count Two of the Indictment alleges that HOWES possessed material to be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Count Three of the Indictment alleges that HOWES possessed marijuana with the intent to distribute on June 7, 2010, in Upshur County.

If convicted, HOWES faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000 on Count One of the Indictment; a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count Two of the Indictment; and a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count Three of the Indictment.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen D. Warner. The case was prosecuted by the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.