CHARLESTON — A jury has found an eastern Panhandle man guilty of federal drug distribution and firearms charges, the product of a partnership between West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and U.S. Attorney Bill Powell.
The jury found Kearneysville resident Gregory Keith Clinton guilty of one count of Armed Career Criminal Act, one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base, and one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Hydrochloride. He was also found guilty of one count of Possession of Cocaine Base and one count of Possession of Cocaine.
Clinton, 57, having previously been convicted of three felony drug charges, illegally possessed a 45-caliber pistol and possessed crack cocaine and coke in Berkeley and Jefferson counties in July 2016.
“We will not allow more drugs to flood into our already over-saturated communities,” Morrisey said in a press release. “Those who bring drugs in will face stiff penalties.”
Clinton will be sentenced at a later date. His punishment will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and any prior criminal history.
The partnership, announced in December 2015, involves two lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office serving as special assistant U.S. attorneys. To date, the work of those attorneys has led to or assisted in the government securing 13 convictions.
West Virginia Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Grant assisted in the government’s prosecution in her dual role as a special assistant U.S. attorney. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski also prosecuted the case.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.