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

August 15, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Martinsburg Resident Enters Plea to Crack Cocaine Charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A 42 year old Martinsburg, West Virginia, resident entered a plea of guilty today (August 15, 2011), in United States District Court in Martinsburg before Magistrate Judge David J. Joel.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that FRITZLER F. THOMAS entered a plea of guilty to one count of distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of the North Middle School on March 17, 2008, in Martinsburg. THOMAS, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces a maximum exposure of 1 to 60 years imprisonment and a fine of $4,000,000 due to a prior drug felony conviction in Florida.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul T. Camilletti and was investigated by the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the West Virginia State Police - Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Martinsburg Police Department, and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department.