Mineral County Home Center of Drug Trafficking Operation, Occupant Sentenced to Prison

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A Keyser, West Virginia man will spend time in federal prison for selling fentanyl and methamphetamine from his residence, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Lucas Earl Shoemaker, 35, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. The Mineral County Sheriff's Office was investigating a complaint about suspected drug trafficking from a home on Knobley Road Keyser, West Virginia. Shoemaker was reported to be the occupant and was selling fentanyl and methamphetamine. Officers later encountered Shoemaker at a store in Mineral County and arrested him for having firearms and being prohibited because of prior felonies. A search warrant was executed on his home and investigators seized 231 grams of methamphetamine, 17 grams of fentanyl, cocaine, multiple firearms and ammunition, cash, scales, and drug paraphernalia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

The Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Mineral County Sheriff's Office investigated.

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. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.