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(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist

July 13, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Former Monongalia County Resident
Indicted on Drug and Firearm Charges

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 48 year old former Monongalia County resident was indicted on July 12, 2011, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that ELISHA SADLER was named in a four-count Indictment. Count One of the Inditment alleges that SADLER conspired to distribute cocaine hydrochloride, also known as “coke”; cocaine base, also known as “crack”; and heroin from the Spring of 2010 and continuing through February 2011 in the Northern District of West Virginia. Counts Two and Five of the Indictment allege that SADLER illegally used a telephone to distribute “crack” cocaine. Count Three of the Indictment alleges that SADLER possessed “coke” and “crack” with the intent to distribute in Monongalia County. Count Four of the Indictment alleges that SADLER, who was previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, knowingly possessed a firearm in Monongalia County.

If convicted, SADLER faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000 each on Counts One and Three of the Indictment; a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 each on Counts Two and Five of the Indictment; and a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count Four of the Indictment.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zelda E. Wesley. The case was investigated by the Mon Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. The Task Force consists of officers from the Morgantown Police Department, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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.