Huntington man pleads guilty to crack cocaine charge | USAO-SDWV
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A Huntington man caught last year with cocaine, also known as crack cocaine, pleaded guilty today.
According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Donald Duane Cole, 51, admitted he was present when officers executed a search warrant at his home on 9and Avenue in Huntington on July 29, 2021. Cole admitted to officers that he was in possession of crack cocaine and officers seized crack cocaine during the search. Cole admitted that he intended to sell the crack. Cole further admitted to participating with others in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and fentanyl in the Huntington area between April and July 2021.
Cole pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute basic cocaine and faces up to 20 years in federal prison when sentenced on May 16, 2022.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the TOC-West task force in southern West Virginia. The Southern West Virginia TOC-West Task Force consists of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Hurricane Police Department, and the Marshall University Police Department, with support from the State Police Department. State of West Virginia, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is handling the prosecution.
The investigation was part of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OECDTF). The OECDTF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-layered attacks against major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the backbone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, the OECDTF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The primary mission of the OECDTF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that pose a significant threat to public, economic or national of the United States.
A copy of this press release can be found on the website of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Court documents and related information can be found at PACER looking for case no. 3:22-cr-00007.
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