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

June 10, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wheeling Resident Enters Plea of Guilty

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A 41 year old Wheeling, West Virginia, resident entered a plea of guilty on June 8, 2011, in United States District Court in Wheeling before Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that MICHAEL L. 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 26 grams of “crack” cocaine, six 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, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000.

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.