A Charleston man who participated in a multistate drug ring was sentenced last week to a year and a half in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Matthew Michael Meadows, 31, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin.
From the summer of 2014 to March 2016, Meadows conspired with codefendant Corey Bruce Toney and other individuals to distribute heroin in the Huntington and Charleston areas. Meadows frequently met with Toney at various locations in Huntington and received quantities of heroin ranging from five grams to an ounce. Meadows would subsequently distribute the heroin in the Charleston area and then return the proceeds back to Toney.
Toney pleaded guilty in September 2016 to distributing heroin. Toney admitted that he conspired with others to distribute large quantities of drugs that were transported from California and Michigan to Huntington, including heroin, crack, marijuana, and Xanax.
This prosecution arose out of a long-term investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the West Virginia State Police, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Huntington Police Department, the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force, the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Nine additional defendants have been convicted for their roles in this drug ring. In addition to Toney, Atari Seantay Brown, Parker Wyatt Mays, Sean Lee Braggs, Samuel E. Nelson, III, Tanisha Lynette Wooding, Deandra Sheen Jones, and Roy Bills have all pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and are awaiting sentencing. Arthur James Canada was previously sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecutions. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentences and is presiding over these cases.
These cases are being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of illegal drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.