Joint Law Enforcement Effort Exposes Fentanyl Conspiracy; Defendant Pleads Guilty

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA - A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania man has admitted to working with an alleged gang member to sell fentanyl in North Central West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Ramon Juan Sims, Jr., 29, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, in September 2024, the Weston Police Department, the Lewis County Sheriff's Office, and West Virginia State Police conducted a patrol of the Broad Street area of Weston, West Virginia, due to suspected drug activity. The cooperative police effort stopped driver Ramon Sims, and his passenger, Shawn Galin Whitley, Jr., while in possession of fentanyl and $2,040 in suspected drug proceeds. With assistance from the Mountain Region Drug Task Force, police lawfully searched their nearby hotel room and seized 3,750 fentanyl stamps.

Whitley, Jr., 35, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is a suspected gang member. Whitley previously pled guilty in April 2026 for his role in the conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.

Sims faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

Investigative agencies include the Mountain Region Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Lewis County Sheriff's Office; and the Weston Police Department.

Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.