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

August 5, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wheeling Resident to 5 Years On Drug Charge

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A 41 year old Wheeling, West Virginia, resident was sentenced today (August 5, 2011) in United States District Court in Wheeling by before Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that MICHAEL L. GANDY, formerly of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release. GANDY entered a plea of guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and cocaine on March 29, 2011, in Wheeling. GANDY had been identified to agents of the Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force as a cocaine dealer from Ohio who was dealing in the Elm Grove area of Wheeling. After three controlled buys had been made from GANDY, agents obtained a search warrant on March 29, 2011, for his residence. During the search, agents seized $1,300 (concealed under a chessboard), approximately an ounce of “crack” cocaine with a street value of more than $3,000.00, five grams of cocaine powder, digital scales, sandwich baggies, a digital camera and a cell phone. As part of his plea, GANDY agreed to the forfeiture of the $1,300.

GANDY was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr. The case was investigated by the Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force. The Task Force consists of officers from the Wheeling Police Department, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.