Charleston Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Federal Drug Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Che Dushon Lark, 48, of Charleston, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 6, 2020, law enforcement officers responded to reports of a vehicle parked without permission in a private driveway on Charleston’s West Side. Officers encountered Lark slumped over in the vehicle’s driver’s seat, and observed a package on Lark’s lap containing 4.4 grams of methamphetamine and 11.2 grams of a mixture of heroin and methamphetamine.

Officers removed the package from the vehicle. As officers attempted to remove Lark from the vehicle, he drove off and fled at a high rate of speed through narrow streets. Lark struck and fatally injured Heather Ross of Charleston with his vehicle as she was escorting her four children to their bus stop for school. Lark abandoned his vehicle following the hit-and-run and fled on foot.

On June 11, 2020, law enforcement officers captured Lark in a residence in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he was found hiding in the attic under insulation. Lark possessed a fake Michigan driver’s license, gave officers a false name and did not have the consent of the property owner to be in the residence.

In early 2021, Lark used various third parties to distribute drugs, coordinating those distributions by cell phone. On February 23, 2021, Lark’s girlfriend sold approximately 12 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant after setting up the sale by cell phone. On March 4, 2021, Lark coordinated the sale of a quantity of fentanyl by Rebecca Dunlap, an associate of Lark’s, to a confidential informant.

On March 17, 2021, Dunlap drove from Charleston to Columbus, Ohio, to pick up controlled substances for Lark. Dunlap was stopped by law enforcement officers on her way back to Charleston with approximately 799 grams of methamphetamine and 200 grams of fentanyl. Dunlap admitted that she made that trip to Columbus to pick up drugs for Lark and further admitted that she delivered drugs to Lark from Columbus on two other occasions.

Dunlap, 48, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on September 2, 2021, to traveling in interstate commerce to promote, carry on, and facilitate a methamphetamine and fentanyl drug conspiracy, and awaits sentencing.

Lark has a long criminal history that includes at least nine prior convictions in Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee and West Virginia, including four convictions for controlled substances-related offenses and three for fleeing from law enforcement.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Charleston Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT),  and the assistance provided by the West Virginia State Police. MDENT is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian D. Parsons and Nowles Heinrich prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-84.

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