Interstate Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to Federal Prison

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Lewis County traffic stop and hotel room search led to the sentencing of a North Carolina man responsible for distributing a large quantity of fentanyl in West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced. Shawn Galin Whitley, Jr., 35, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to 48 months in prison. A Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a vehicle occupied by Whitley. He was removed from the car during the stop. Deputies discovered $2,040 in cash and five fentanyl stamps in Whitley’s pocket. Officers then obtained a search warrant for Room 204 of a nearby hotel where he was staying. Inside the room, investigators found a backpack containing approximately 3,750 fentanyl stamps. Hotel security footage showed Whitley wearing the backpack shortly before police arrived. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, 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. Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.